Pokémon Black 2: Everlasting Hope
by EternalScholar12
Summary: Alex Gates had woken up from a dream where he had been in a world of only Pokémon, on the advent of his 15th birthday, becoming a trainer 2 days afterwards. But while missing those he left, It turned out though that the world he left and his own were more connected than he thought. but as Team Plasma rises again in Unova, he has little choice than to fight for the world again.
1. Chapter 1: Professor Hazel

[Location: Castelia City, Unova; June 20, 2012AD; 12:35pm]

[Music: Castelia City- Pokémon Black]

A man with a white sleeveless trench coat, a green tie, dark green coat and green pants with green shoes and a green hat walked off of the boat on to the port. "So... This is Castelia City." noted Garrick Hazel, A leading professor in Pokemon behaviour and psychology, and is one of the few people in the world able to truly talk to Pokemon. "I've rarely ever seen a place this... busy."

Coming from a region where this amount of busyness isn't commonplace, this was rather exciting; and almost overwhelming at the same time. Castelia, being the main capital of the Unova Region, was a big port city, with many skyscrapers, varying a bit in height, and always full of busy people. There was an intense chatter to the city as if he was in a popular cafe. To Garrick's right, however, he heard a voice over all of the others calling out to him. "Ah! There you are!"

[Music: professor Juniper's Theme from Pokémon black]

Garrick turned to see a similarly dressed woman. She walked over to him with a sort of contagious energy. "You look just like how Prof. Birch described! It's nice to meet you; my name's Aurea Juniper, Regional Professor of Unova, and researcher of the origins Of Pokémon. Welcome to Unova, Professor Hazel." She then did an eastern greeting.

Garrick chuckled. "You needn't be so formal, Aurea. Just my name would have sufficed. Although, I do commend the effort to do some research on Hoennese tradition and etiquette." He noted. "Where's that assistant of yours I was told about? ... Bella, was it not?"

Aurea smirked. "Bianca, you mean? Bell is her last name. In any case. She's over in Aspertia City delivering some starter Pokémon in my stead." She replied. "Now, our destination is in Nimbasa City is it not?"

Garrick nodded. "Indeed, it should be. Where is Nimbasa, exactly? I'll be in the region for a while I imagine, so I bet I'll need a map as well."

Aurea pointed north. "Well, Nimbasa happens to be just north from here; it is Castelia's sister city after all. Oh; and here's a map." Aurea handed Garrick a somewhat large paper map of Unova.

Garrick looked at the map for a quick second before folding it up and putting it away into his coat pocket. "Alright then. Lead the way, Aurea!" he exclaimed.

Aurea nodded, moving down the street, with Garrick right behind her. "Right. Also, I should give you this." She noted, handing him a red watch. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Devon made PokeNav? This is the XTransceiver, made by my friend Dr. Fennel. It's the Unovan equivalent."

Garrick inspected it before putting it on. "I see. I suppose it'll come in handy. I believe I heard that Dr. Fennel also deals with something called the dream world?"

Aurea smirked. "Indeed! I can see you've researched the scientific climate of Unova."

Garrick chuckled. "Well, I like to keep myself well-read before going to a new region."

* * *

[Location: Nimbasa City, Unova; June 20, 2012AD; 1:00pm]

Nimbasa was somewhat less busy in comparison to Castelia, due in part of being much smaller. While Castelia was the business capital of Unova, Nimbasa was the Entertainment capital of Unova, being just north of Castelia. The destination though was a simple apartment owned by the Gates family, who moved to Nimbasa from Aspertia City two years ago.

The reason why was because of a boy named Alex Gates. A shut-in kid, who moved to Nimbasa from Aspertia City 2 years ago, and who, according to what Prof. Juniper had gathered, had experienced a near life-like dream where he had turned into a Pokémon and went on an adventure. Most would shrug it off, but after hearing about it from Prof. Birch, Garrick became mildly interested in the boy's experience and travelled to Unova to talk to the boy. Though his research focused was on Pokémon Psychology, he still knew a thing or two on traditional psychology. Furthermore, Alex's story felt a bit familiar to something Garrick had experienced himself, many years ago.

[Music: A mysterious world from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Gates to infinity]

When Garrick walked in Alex's room, Alex reading a book at his desk. Alex was a boy with short blond hair, no more than 15, who wore a yellow t-shirt and yellow sweatpants. For a city with an electric gym leader, it was no surprise this was the current fashion. Alex grunted. "So, you're the visitor that mom talked about?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of his book.

On his desk was a Bookmark with an Unovan Pokémon; Haxorus, as far as Garrick recalled. Also on his desk, was a piece of paper with two rings drawn on it. A blue one, and then a smaller red one inside the blue circle. Inside the red ring was what seemed to be 4 golden squares with different symbols; a sun, a moon, an up arrow and a down arrow. Under the rings, the page said 'MagnaGate.' Certainly not a term he had heard before.

Garrick nodded. "Indeed. I have come a long way to talk with you, boy. Alex, was it not?" He replied, before introducing himself. "I'm Professor Hazel, but you can call me Garrick if you want."

The boy gasped, taking his eyes off of his book to look at Garrick. "Professor Hazel, you say? Wait... You don't mean you're... You're Garrick Hazel!?" He looked at him with beaming light blue eyes. Garrick soon noticed the book he was reading; an Unovan copy of Sentinels; the Crimson Rescue Team.

Garrick smiled. "Indeed I am. Come to think of it, that's my book, isn't it?"

Alex blushed, before sighing. "Yes, it is. If I'm being honest, I got to say, Prof. Hazel..." Alex put his bookmark right where he stopped reading. "I love it! I've read it from front to back so many times, I almost have it completely memorized the whole thing! I even did a book report on it at school!" Alex's eyes instantly lit up like a Christmas tree as he talked about it.

Garrick nodded. "I see! Honestly, the fact that you've read it at all really makes things much easier on my end." Garrick then pulled out his own copy of the book from his bag, which was fittingly in Hoennese. "Back to the task at hand though. I'm going to go on a limb and say you're reading again, due to how much it lines up with your own recent experience?"

Alex's expression fell immediately. "Is... is that why you're here?" He asks bluntly.

Garrick nodded. "Indeed I had heard from Prof. Juniper and Prof. Birch that you had recently experienced an adventure that was very similar to my book. Could you… tell me about it?"

Alex looked to the left then the right before looking at Garrick and holding up a finger. "Could you promise me one thing, Prof. Hazel? Tell nobody about this, ok?"

Garrick sat down at Alex's Desk. "Oh don't worry! I promise I won't tell a single soul outside these walls." He reassured Alex. And so, Alex told him about his journey. How he met his partner, Ryouma Kiba. His journey to The Glacier Palace; how he met the 'voice of life' in the form of a Hydreigon... his whole journey.

While Garrick had his hand on his chin, thinking about Alex's story; Alex looked at the book wistfully and continued. "... So yeah. After I woke up from it, I've just been reading it again and again; it kind of made me see it in a new light, in a way."

Garrick clapped his hands. "Let me tell you a secret about the book. Same rules apply here. You're not allowed to tell anyone outside these walls about it. Promise?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I promise. What is it anyways?" he asked.

Garrick leaned forward. "What if I told you... that that story actually happened?"

Alex tilted his head. "What do you mean 'actually happened'?" Alex was seemingly confused, and understandably so. "I mean, I know you named your character Dace from the book after your Starter Pokémon Dacre, but still..."

Garrick smirked. "Well, about that..." He pulled a pokéball out of his bag. "... Garren from the book isn't just named after me, he WAS me. Care to explain further, Dacre?" He then opened the pokéball and releasing the Swampert inside. It had a light blue pendant around its neck. Alex assumed it was a Mystic Water (an item that, when held by a Pokémon, increases the power of water moves) and didn't pay much mind to it.

[Music: Hope (light arrangement 3) from PMD:GTI]

The Swampert turned towards Garrick. "... Are you sure this kid'll understand me, Garrick?" asked the Swampert, his voice deep and croaky, as if came from a frog.

Garrick nodded. "From what the report said, yes, he should." The professor responded, turning to Alex. "Well? Did you understand him?" To which he nodded.

The Swampert shrugged. "... Well, alright then! I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Dacre Beckett." He introduced. "This 'Garren' in the story is actually Garrick over here. Everything in that story is actually more real than you realize."

Garrick nodded. "I didn't just come up with that story on the fly, one Sunday afternoon Y'know. It actually happened to me; much like your own experience." Garrick added.

Alex's eyes went wide. "That whole thing happened?" Alex asked.

Dacre nodded. "Yup. The whole thing." Dacre answered.

Alex pointed at Dacre. "Even the fact that your rivals were literally named Team Meanies?" Alex continued.

Garrick nodded and sighed. "Especially Team Meanies." His eyebrow twitched, remembering all of those shenanigans.

Alex smirked. "I'm surprised such a name for a 'rescue' team was allowed!" Alex chuckled. Alex looked down. "But ...I'm not sure if I fully believe you though. It is somewhat a lot to take in, considering the implications of that... besides, why are you telling me all of this anyways?" Alex asked looking back at the book.

Dacre and Garrick exchanged looks before looking back at Alex. Dacre answered. "Because there is a chance that you could meet your partner again." Alex's eyes went wide and looked at Garrick and Dacre.

Garrick jumped in. "I'm not quite sure how exactly... but the Pokémon world and this one are connected in some way, shape or form: When it's daytime here it's nighttime there." Garrick explained. "Not to mention how, almost every single Pokémon in there, with certain exclusions, are also in this world, though rarely ever with any memory of what has happened in the other world. I call it a sort of Sleeping World, where anything from that is a dream, from our perspective. It's kind of a secret pet project of mine."

Dacre spoke next. "That being said, they can be made to remember what happened in the Sleeping World, if they meet someone in this world that they met in the other one or vice versa." Dacre added.

Garrick spoke again. "I know, it's hard to believe but, by this logic, there is a chance to you could meet Ryouma in this world. You said he was an Axew, right? If I remember correctly, Axews are native to the Unova Region, correct?" Garrick concluded.

Alex Slowly nodded. "... Yes, they are, though I don't really know where you can find them..." Alex trailed off. "But how are so sure I'll find be able him specifically?"

Garrick looked Alex straight in the eyes. "Believe in your bonds and hope, Alex. I met Dacre randomly mind you; he just happened to be my starter Pokémon, but I think if you truly wish upon your bond with him; I'm sure it won't be very hard at all." Garrick assured. "I know this is a lot to take in, but just trust me with this one. So long as you believe, all should go the way you want it to."

Alex sighed. "I... Alright, I'll give it a try. Thank you, Prof. Hazel… Oh! I have another question. How will I get him to remember?" Alex asked.

Garrick nodded. "Well, you'll need what I like to call a 'Resonance Trigger'." He replied. "You mentioned that when you woke up, you had something with you that was only in that world, correct?"

Alex raised his eyebrows. "Huh? ... Yes, I did; it was this... bag of sorts." He answered, grabbing a small light blue bag. It seemed to be bigger than the inside though, "This is a Frism. It can repeat anything spoken into it. It still records voices as well. Watch!" He put his mouth to the opening of the bag. "Hello professor!" He spoke into the bag. The bag then began to freeze over. Alex then handed it to Garrick. "Try warming it up; it should melt pretty easily. If you do it right, it'll unfreeze and play the phrase.

Garrick nodded, then held it up to his chest to try to warm it up and it unfroze, repeating the phrase 'Hello Professor!' in the same tone, almost like a tape recorder. Garrick blinked and smiled, as the bag went limp once more. "Fascinating. I've never heard of this in the sleeping world." Garrick noted, passing the Frism back to Alex.

Alex put it back right where it was. "How it works, I've got no sort of clue, but we found it at the Glacier Palace; I don't think anywheres else in the... ahem, 'sleeping world' has it. Also, when I was leaving that world, Hydreigon gave me one that had all of my friends from Post Town saying goodbye and..." He began to trail off, as His expression dropped, frowning, remembering everything Ryouma's message said. He even started to tear up a little. "... You sure this is it?"

Garrick nodded. "Trust me; I have the same sort of object." Garrick said, catching Alex's attention again, and pulling out a small white egg-shaped badge that had a red bottom and golden wings coming from each side. "I'm sure you have an idea of what it is."

Alex gasped. "Whoa! A Rescue Team Badge just like the ones in the book!" Alex exclaimed, his eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree, as he swept the tears away. "So, are you saying that's your… 'Resonance Trigger'?"

Garrick smirked. "Quite so! I got it the same way you got your Resonance Trigger; this IS my Rescue Team Badge that I somehow brought with me when I woke up." Garrick explained.

Garrick put the badge back into his bag. "I'm not entirely sure how they got here, but these items are proof that our world and theirs are connected, in some way. I've always been wondering how, and the fact that you brought your Frism to this world only helps my research. Anyway, I'm not sure how this works either, but, if telling them your name isn't enough to jog their memories, show them the Frism; it should do the trick, anything beyond that is unknown to me." He noted.

Garrick got up and rubbed his hands together. "Well Alex, I'm afraid I'm out of time for today. I'll be around the region. If you see me around, don't be afraid to say hello. According to what Prof. Juniper told me, you should receive your Starter Pokémon tomorrow." He noted, pulling out Dacre's Pokeball. "Good luck on your adventure, Alex Gates. Dacre, Return." He exclaimed, returning Dacre to his pokéball.

Alex waved at him. "See ya, Prof. Hazel!" Alex exclaimed, with renewed determination. "Please be sure to ask Prof. Juniper where I can find an Axew!"

Garrick smiled. "Will do. See ya around, kid." Garrick replied, waving back. For some reason, during that whole conversation, Alex reminded him of… well, himself when he was his age; right after his own adventure, a good thirteen years ago. It was a familiar feeling of nostalgia; and one that you can't quite get rid of all that easily. Deep down he knew... his vacation in Unova was going to be one heck of a vacation. And he couldn't be happier.

CH1 END


	2. Chapter 2: Electrifying Reunion

***the next day ***

[Location: Route 5, Unova; June 21, 2012AD; 2:00pm]

[Music: Route 4 (Summer) from Pokémon Black]

Alex looked through his pokédex, standing in the middle of tall grass. Stared it intensely, trying to figure out his next move. "Hmm... it says Emolga should be on this route... but where?" Alex muttered.

A voice then spoke up behind Alex. "What're you looking for, Alex?" they asked.

Alex turned around to see a Pokemon ranger. "Oh! Hey Lois!" He greeted, saluting. Lois Appleby was a Pokémon Ranger in a dark red sleeveless coat and a black shirt and a short skirt. Pokémon Rangers like her are there to protect not only the environment but wild Pokémon, as well as to make sure trainers don't get injured or lost. She was set to be the Ranger on duty for route 5 today.

Lois returned the Salute. "You look like you might need some help. How can I help you?" She asked him, crossing her arms.

Alex pointed at his pokédex. "I'm looking for an Emolga. My Pokédex says they're on this route but I can seem to find any." Alex showed her his Pokédex screen, which had Emolga right on it.

Lois began to think. "Hmm... I'll tell ya this much kiddo; they're a rare find around here, on average, you've got a 10% chance finding them here, statistics say. You'd honestly have a higher chance finding one over at Route 6; and even then, it's just a 20% chance on average there!... Hmm, wait a second, I might have an idea! Go, Foongus!" She threw out a pokéball, sending out a Foongus.

Lois smirked. "Alright, Foongus! Use Sweet Scent!" Immediately afterwards, The Foongus released a pink light powder from its mouth into the air. "Sweet Scent is not only great for making the opponent less evasively to attacks, but it can also lure Pokémon towards you!" While a few different Pokemon could be heard, out of the nearby forest came an Emolga. Lois chuckled. "And will you look at that! An Emolga is already coming our way! I'll leave the rest to you, Alex. Foongus, return!" Lois returned her Foongus to its pokéball before stepping back to watch as the Emolga glided ever closer to Alex.

* * *

[Music: Wild Pokemon Battle from Black 2]

Alex nodded. "... Alright then! Go, Blaise!" Alex exclaimed, sending out his Starter Pokémon, Blaise Charbonneau, a Tepig. "Alright Blaise, use Tackle!"

Blaise grunted. "You got it, man!" Blaise replied, running at the Emolga, crashing into it. When he did that though, the Emolga, in turn, released a large amount of electricity, sending him back.

The Emolga got back up and smirked. "Well I was going to go after that smell, but if you want to play it that way, so be it!" It challenged, as four copies, two on each side, suddenly appeared beside him. "Come at me!"

Alex nodded at the emolga's display. "Double Team, huh? ... Blaise, we've got no choice but to face him head-on! Use Flame Charge!" Alex commanded. In reply, Blaise burst into flames and ran at the middle Emolga; which happened to be the right one. After hitting it, the clones disappeared, sending the Emolga back a bit.

The Emolga grunted. "Ngh... Fine then!" It then sent a thunderbolt bouncing towards Blaise, shocking him. "Electrifying, isn't it?"

Alex smirked. "Yup... it's defiantly him..." Alex muttered. "Blaise, you ok?"

Blaise nodded, shakily. "Ngh... Yeah, I'm good!" He grunted. He didn't have much left in him, but he was pretty resilient.

Alex nodded back. "Good! Use Flame Charge again!" Alex commanded. In response, he burst into flames and ran at the Emolga faster than before; it didn't even get a chance to react, launching it back.

Alex shook his fist in victory. "Nice! Now... Let's try to catch him now..." Alex declared, throwing a pokéball at the Emolga, absorbing it into the pokéball in a red aura, before falling on the ground. The pokéball shook three times before dinging. He was officially caught.

Lois applauded, from the background. "Nice job, Alex! I must say kid, you really lucked out here! Not to mention that your battle skills are top-notch, kiddo; you're a natural! Here, let me heal your Pokémon for you."

* * *

***Two Minutes Later***

[Music: Post Town From PMD:GTI]

The Emolga hovered in front of Alex. "So then, Trainer; what's your name? I'm Emile Edison!" The Emolga told Alex, who was sitting down beside him.

Alex smirked. "My name's Alex. Alex Gates." He replied.

Emile stopped hovering and descended to the ground. "W- Wait a minute! ...No way... Are you actually... Are you that Alex Gates?!" he exclaimed.

Alex pulled out his Frism. "Yup! I'm that one! Alex Gates, Co-Leader of Pokémon Paradise!" Pokémon Paradise was a big project that he and Ryouma decided to do together, which Emile eventually joined in on.

Emile chuckled. "Well shoot! This'll be a story to tell the gang!" Emile started to dance around excitedly.

Alex sighed. "You do realize they probably won't believe you, right?" Alex pointed out, stopping Emile in his tracks. "There's almost no chance they'll believe you outright... Unless it's Ryouma; he'd probably believe you right away. Besides, the whole gang's in this world as well luckily, somewhere. My next 'target', funnily enough, is Ryouma."

Emile thought about it for a second before nodding. "Hmm... ok! The question is though, where is he? And why'd'ya get me first?" he asked.

Alex nodded. "First off, I have an idea on where he could be; Mistralton Cave. Secondly, I decided to get you first because Route 5 is much closer to Nimbasa than Mistralton Cave."

Emile started hovering again. "Ah, good point. Well, let's get going then."

Alex shook his head. "I feel I should beat the Nimbasa Gym first though."

Emile nodded. "Oh right, you're a Trainer now. Well, do what you think is right."

* * *

[The next day]

[Location: Nimbasa City Main District, Unova; June 22nd, 2012, 6:00 pm]

[Music: Nimbasa City from Pokemon Black]

Alex sighed in relief. "Elesa was no joke." He said.

Emile chuckled. "You can say that again. It really put my acrobatics to the test."

Alex pumped his fist. "Now to head to Driftveil City, and get their badge. And then we can go to Mistralton to get Ryouma." Alex noted.

A feminine voice spoke out from behind him though. "Hey! That's Alex!" Alex Turned quickly to see two people he hadn't seen in a while. It was a girl with brown hair and long ponytails, a white shirt, a skirt and light blue shoes; and a boy with a blue jacket, grey shorts, poofy brown hair and red shoes.

Alex took a double-take. "Rosa! Nate!" Alex ran towards Rosa, with Emile close behind.

Alex put his fist on his hip and chuckled. "What are you two doing in Nimbasa?"

Nate crossed his arms. "We're going to fight the Pokemon league."

Rosa smiled. "It's so great to see you again, Alex! How have you been?"

Alex sighed and looked down. "It's been... complicated."

Emile spoke up, catching Alex's attention. "Hey, Alex, Who are they?"

Rosa answered, clapping her hands. "Hey, little guy! I'm Rosa Waters! I'm an old friend of Alex's!"

Nate saluted and smirked. "Name's Nate Waters, I'm an old friend of Alex's too."

Emile posed enthusiastically. "Call me Emile!" He then realized something and looked at them surprised. "Wait, can you two talk to Pokemon too!?"

Nate and Rosa chuckled. Nate nodded. "Yeah, I guess that is kinda rare huh."

Alex looked at Nate. "I can actually speak to Pokemon too, now."

Rosa raised her eyebrows. "Really? But I thought you couldn't when you were back in Aspertia with us!"

Alex shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. I don't know why, I just can. I've been able to do it like that for a week or so." Alex put his fist back on his hip. "So how's Hugh been anyways? He trying for the League too?"

Nate chuckled. "He ran after some assholes towards Route 5. We'll probably catch him in Driftveil."

Rosa clapped her hands. "Actually, Alex! Do you want to travel with us for a bit?"

Alex looked to Emile and Emile nodded and gave a sort of thumbs up. Alex looked back at Rosa and Nate and Shrugged. "You know what, sure!" Rosa jumped for joy and Alex then followed Rosa and Nate to Driftveil.


	3. Chapter 3: The Nimbasan Underdog

*the next day*

[In front of Driftveil gym, Driftveil City, Unova; June 23, 2012AD, 1:00 pm]

[Music: Driftveil City from Pokemon Black]

After training in route 6, and catching some Pokémon there; in Alex's case, a Marril and a Deerling, Nate looked at the gym before turning to Alex and Rosa. He clapped his hands. "So, who should do it first?"

Alex thought about it and sighed. "You should do it. I'm not quite ready yet."

Nate and Rosa nodded. Rosa spoke next, as Nate turned to her. "I'll let you do this one first; I want to check out that new Pokemon World Tournament thing.

Alex looked at her. "Pokemon World Tournament?" He asked, tilting his head.

Nate crossed his arms. "Oh yeah. Apparently that's what replaced the giant freezer they had here. I heard the freezer was moved to Icirrus and they put that there a year ago."

Rosa smiled. Rosa waved out her hand. "Trainers from far and wide come to participate in this tournament for fame and Glory!" Rosa said dramatically. "A must-go for any battle-happy Trainer!"

Alex's eyes went wide. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Nate chuckled. "I was thinking of checking it out after I beat Clay but you guys can go ahead."

Rosa put her hands together. "Alright, Alex! Let's go!"

* * *

[Location: Pokemon World Tournament Lobby, Driftveil City, Unova; June 23, 2012, 3:30 pm]

[Music: PWT Lobby from Pokemon Black 2]

Rosa and Alex walked up to the registering woman in a green suit. "We'd like to participate in the Driftveil Tournament."

The woman nodded. "State your names, Classes and Place of origins."

Rosa smiled. "Rosa Waters, Rising Star From Aspertia City!"

Alex put his fists on his hips. "Alex Gates, Youngster from Nimbasa City!"

The woman nodded again and moved aside. "Come with me, we're about to start. Alex, you will be on stage 1, while Rosa, you will be on stage 4. The Driftveil has certain rules. No items, no switching, and all Pokemon will be Level-synced to 25." The Pokemon Levelling System was created by the Kantonese Silph Company, as a way to quantify a Pokémon's strength using numbers. While sometimes imperfect in practice, it has been mostly spot-on for 20 years. Alex and Rosa nodded and went into the Staging area.

* * *

*First Match*

The announcer spoke to the crowd with high enthusiasm. "On our left, we have a new trainer from Nimbasa City! Youngster Alex Gates!" The crowd cheered as the left end of the stage lit up and Alex walked on to the stage, he looked at the crowd and waved nervously.

The right end of the stage lit up. The announcer spoke again. "On our Right, is a Hiker from Lentimas Town, Boone Liseran!" The crowd cheered again as a young-looking man with a brown Sleeveless jacket, green shorts brown boots and a big brown backpack. His skin was very pale and his hair was very messy. His eyes looked completely dead, with no Pupils, just big Brown dead eyes.

The man looked at Alex determinedly, despite having no pupils. "Don't hold back." He said deeply. Alex had no choice but to nod.

[Music: Trainer Battle from Pokemon Black 2]

Silently, Boone sent out his Sigilyph and Alex sent out Emile. Emile chuckled and built up some static. "This'll be easy." He sent a thunderbolt at the Sigilyph, electrocuting it. It floated back up soon after. The Sigilyph's eye began to glow magenta and it fires a magenta beam of energy with multi-coloured particles from the eye on top of its head. Emile stumbled and shook his head.

Alex put his hand out. "You've still got this! Spark!" Emile nodded and blue sparks began to come from Emile's cheeks as he became surrounded in electric energy. He then rammed into The Sigilyph, launching it.

The announcer spoke again. "That's 1: nothing for Alex!"

Boone caught his Sigilyph by the wing as it flew by him and returned it to its Pokeball and brought out his Yamask. The way he moved and did things seemed rather robotic and forced. The Pokemon moved the same. Boone kept whispering the moves for his Pokemon to follow. Alex didn't feel right watching him. The Yamask also had a mask that looked rather similar to Boone's face.

Alex grunted. "Emolga, give him some acrobatics." Emolga glides around the battlefield at top speed and then dives down at the Yamask, slamming into it multiple times. As it flies through the air, it moves so fast that it seems to leave behind two afterimages.

The Yamask's eye glowed bright pink and began to hold the mask in the air, releasing gusts of purple, ominous wind from the mask. Emile was quite affected by the powerful wind, as was Alex. It reminded Alex of the Bittercold's aura. He flinched, but Emile got his footing quickly. He then stomped and sent a thundershock towards the Yamask, but it didn't affect it much.

Yamask's eyes began to glow again and its body glows pale purple. Then, it releases multiple crimson rings from its face at Emile. The rings began to grow larger as they travelled through the air, and when the rings collided with Emile, his body becomes outlined in light purple, damaging it. Emile then collapsed.

The announcer spoke again. "Down! That's 1:1; perfectly even!" He noted. "Who will break the tie first?"

Alex sighed. "Emolga, return." He returned Emile to his Pokeball and brought out Blaise, who was a Pignite by the time. Alex put out his hand and put Emile's Pokeball back on his belt. "Flame Charge!" He ordered. Blaise nodded, and Blaise burst into flames and he charged into the Yamask. The Yamask flew back, with its mask landing right on Boone's face. It fell quickly, and Boone brought out his last Pokemon, a Numel, after returning his Yamask.

The announcer chuckled. "2:1 for Alex and it's looking almost over!"

Blaise cracked his shoulders and quickly charged at the Numel. As he does, his body becomes surrounded by a golden aura and a white forcefield covers the front of his body. Blaise then crashed into The Numel at full force, and the Numel skid back but got its footing again easily.

The Numel then stomped and the ground began to shake affecting both Emile and Alex, while Boone just stood there. A crack in the ground stretched over to Blaise and the ground around Blaise raised up, launching Blaise up in the air. He landed square on his back. He was knocked out from there.

The announcer spoke again. "That's 2:2! This is a close battle! Who will be able to get the upper hand?"

Alex growled and grabbed his last Pokemon. His newly-caught Deerling. "I'm going to need to pull something out of his ass here..." he told himself. "Anise! Feint Attack!" He ordered. Anise nodded and ran past the Numel, but when the Numel turned, Anise was gone and in the next second she stomps the Numel's head before jumping off of it and landing back where she started.

The Numel shook its head and ran at Anise with a white force field, crashing into Anise at full force. It almost launches Anise off the field but she gets back up and shakes it off. She runs up to the Numel. "Now you'll get it!" She gets close and turns quickly and double kicks the Numel with her Hind legs. The Numel toppled over and knocks out.

[Silent]

Boone returned his Numel and the crowd cheered. The announcer spoke. "And the winner is, Alex Gates!" Confetti rained from the ceiling and the billboard showed Alex's name. Alex waved to the crowd before turning to face Boone.

Boone slowly looked down at the ground. "You... you fight well." And then the lights went out suddenly and when they came back on the next second, Boone was gone without a trace.

The crowd went into deep discussion, as the announcer was speechless. "What just happened?" "Reminds me of that girl on Marvelous Bridge!" "But surely that rumour isn't true, right? That's from over two years ago!" Alex looked around before noticing that two of the seats were empty. Alex squinted before shrugging and moving off the stage.

* * *

*the Second match*

[Music: PWT Lobby from PKMNB2]

The lights on the left end of the stage lit up, and the announcer spoke up. "To our left, it's the champion of stage one, it's the Nimbasan Youngster Alex Gates!" The crowd cheered as Alex walked on to the stage. The lights on the right end of the stage lit up. "On our right, is the Man who defeated Team Plasma Two years ago, Hilbert Blackburn of the Blackburn Twins!" The crowd cheered even louder as a man with short brown hair, a blue jacket black pants and red shoes walked on to the stage.

Alex stepped back in surprise; any Unovan knew of Hilbert, who defeated Team Plasma 2 years ago with the help of both his sister Hilda and the legendary Pokemon Reshiram. Hilbert crossed his arms and sighed. "Still not sure if I like hearing that all the time. Anyways, are you ready, Kid?"

Alex smirked and pumped his fist. "You bet!"

[Music: rival Battle from Pokemon Black]

Hilbert cracked his fist. "Let's start simple. Robin?" He threw out his first Pokeball; his Unfezant, Robin. Alex grins and sends out Emile, who's grinning too. "Ah, I see. An Emolga." He noted. "Robin, Air Slash."

Emile chuckled and flew into Robin Sparking with electric energy faster than he could do the air slash. Robin squawked and hit Emile off of him with his wing before slashing the air with his other wing, wending a small shock wave into Emile, though it didn't affect him much and he continued to glide around the Arena.

Emile smirked. "You know, for the best trainer in Unova, this really wasn't your best choice!" Emile then sent a Thunder-shock at Robin. But Robin detected this and He dodged it so fast it left an afterimage of smoke. Emile chuckled, made a loop and flew right into Robin with electric energy sparking again. Robin was launched back, knocked out.

The Crowd gasped, and so did the announcer. "Amazing! Hilbert's Unfezant was defeated in no time flat!" The announcer exclaimed.

Hilbert chuckled, returning Robin to his Pokeball sending out his Serperior, Aidan. "No, I suppose I haven't. Aidan, Leaf Blade! Knock him out of the sky!" The Serperior leaped up with a glowing green blade floating with him. As he's about to hit him, Emile quickly attacks him with two afterimages and impressive acrobatics. Aidan gets slammed down on the ground instead.

The crowd cheered again. And the announcer chuckled in surprise. "I have no idea what I'm seeing! It's 2:nothing against Nuvema's Hilbert Blackburn!"

Hilbert smiled, returning Aidan to his Pokeball. "Well, you've got this in the bag, kid. I won't lie." He sent out his last Pokemon, Samurott, Kareem. Kareem sighed. Emile went in for another spark but it was blocked by Kareem's swords, and Kareem launches Emile away and goes for a slash of his own, before being thunder-shocked, stopping Kareem dead in his tracks and falls over, fainted.

[Music: PWT Lobby from PKMNB2]

The crowd roared in excitement and the announcer spoke. "And that's a surprise victory from the Nimbasan Underdog Alex Gates, against Nuvema's own Hilbert Blackburn!"

Hilbert chuckled as confetti rained. "I was not as good equipped for that fight as I thought; for once, I actually got too cocky... Good hustle, kid. Good hustle." He clapped.

Alex nodded and smiled. "Thank you. I never thought I'd hear that from you."

Hilbert sighed. "Cut it out. You could have done it just as easily trust me."

Alex tilted his head. "Really?" He asked.

Hilbert nodded while crossing his arms. "You've got potential kid, I can see it. That said, I also sense good and bad things coming, for you and me both. Be wary, kid." Hilbert left the stage, and Alex did too soon after.

* * *

*final match*

"On our Right is the Nimbasan Underdog, Who won against one of Unova's finest, Alex Gates!" The announcer exclaimed. Alex walked on the stage as the lights turned on and the crowd cheered. Alex looked over the crowd to not only see Hilbert again but also Rosa again. Rosa waved at him, and Alex waved back. "To our left, is the leading Professor in Pokemon Psychology and behaviour, Professor Garrick Hazel!" The crowd cheered again as Garrick walked on to the stage.

Alex gasped. "Prof. Hazel? You're here!?"

Garrick nodded and smirked. "I may be a professor nowadays but even someone like me understands the heat and intensity of a good trainer battle." He grabbed one of his Pokéballs. "Now, It's obvious we both have the flame of a great trainer within us, but who's is shining brighter today? Show me!"

Alex smiled and nodded. "Sure!"

[Music: PWT final battle from PKMNB2]

Garrick crossed his arms. "Now, all of my Pokemon are native to the region, and when I told them I was fighting you, they seemed to know you." He smirked and sent out his first Pokemon, a Scraggy, just as Alex sent out Emile.

The Scraggy slowly put up his paw. "Y-yo. So it really is you, huh, Alex." Sure enough, Alex recognized him immediately as the Scraggy he knew in the Sleeping World. "And you're that Emolga from Post Town, Huh? I've always wanted to wipe that smug grin from your face!"

Emile grunted and flew right at Scraggy. "Try your best!" He rammed him with two afterimages, launching him backwards.

Scraggy hit the ground flat on his back. "Y-yeowch!" He yelped, before grumbling a few things and knocking out completely.

The crowd roared and the announcer spoke again. "That's a point for the Nimbasan Underdog, Alex Gates! That Emolga has been doing him well!"

Garrick smiled and sent out his next Pokemon, a Gurdurr. The Gurdurr came out facing Garrick, showing the large scar on his back, just as he had in the sleeping World. The Gurdurr grabbed its steel beam and spun around to face Alex. "Well! Ain't this an awkward way to reunite, huh Kid! And if it isn't Ms. Virizion's Emolga!" The Gurdurr chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when I saw you two walking together after Alex left!"

Emile growled and used acrobatics again. Gurdurr however, tanked the hit substantially and grinned. "Sorry, unlike a certain Scraggy, I won't be goin' down so easily!" He put his hands into the ground and grabbed a chunk of the ground to chuck at Emile, chucking 2 at a time. Emile dodged all of them and sent a thunder-shock at Gurdurr, which he did not take as easily. He shook slightly after being electrocuted. "That... that's all for me..."

The Gurdurr fell forwards as Emile slowly landed and the crowd exploded once more. The announcer spoke again. "That's 2: nothing for Alex! Will the good Prof. Hazel be able to turn this battle around?"

Garrick chuckled. "It all comes down to this." He noted and sent out a Herdier.

The Herdier stretched and looked up at Emile. "Tally ho, laddies! Good tae see ye 'gain, Alex!" The Herdier exclaimed.

Alex and Emile flinched. Alex spoke up. "You!?"

Herdier chuckled. "Wha? Di'nt 'spect li'le ol' me tae fight ye?" Herdier squared up and looked forward. "I may be lang in tae tooth, but don' pass meh off as defenseless, laddies. I ought tae inform ya..." Herdier then disappeared in a flash before turning up behind Emile. "I ain't goin' down wi' out a fight."

Emile jumped back and thunder-shocked Herdier but it showed little effect. Cold mist forms from Herdier's mouth and he bites down on Emile with Icy Fangs, freezing part of Emile's body. Herdier then tosses Emile towards Alex, and Alex catches him. Emile gets back up shakily and jumps out of Alex's hands, though not without stumbling a little.

Herdier chuckled. "Wha' innit, laddie? Tae col' fer ye?" He asked. "Should-de ben nuttin 'pared to tae Glacier Palace!"

Emile grunted and came at Herdier with his Acrobatics, But Herdier took it head-on and retaliated by crunching on him wholesale, before tossing him back at Alex again, knocking Emile out.

The crowd gasped. The announcer spoke again. "Wow! A surprise turnaround from Prof Hazel. It's 2:1 now!"

Herdier did a little victory trot. "Hmph, it's like playin' an ol' game o' Frisbee! I missed that!"

Alex returned Emile to his Pokeball and smirked. "You're quite crafty when it comes down to it, huh?"

Herdier chuckled. "Ye cou' say that, Laddie! Most fun I've had inna while!"

Alex sent out Blaise and crossed his arms. "Arm thrust!" Blaise's eyes and fists glowed white and he ran at Herdier, punching him with alternating arms before Herdier could retaliate, and Herdier was launched back.

Herdier landed but stumbled a lot. "...ya... got me... fair an' square..." he whimpered, before plopping down, fainted.

[Music: PWT Victory from PKMNB2]

The crowd roared once more. The announcer clapped. "The winner of the 1:00 Driftveil tournament is none other than the Nimbasan Underdog, Alex Gates!" The crowd cheered even louder.

Garrick began to clap as well. "Well done, Alex." He congratulated. "You fought well."

Alex nervously bowed. "T-Thank you Prof.!"

Garrick waved it off. "Think nothing of it; you deserved it." Garrick walked off of the stage, as did Alex.

* * *

[Location: PWT Lobby, Driftveil City, Unova; June 23, 2012, 5:30 pm]

[Music: V-Wheeeeeel! From PMD:GTI]

Alex walked out of the stage area to find Hilbert, Garrick, Dacre, Rosa and Nate sitting in the lounge area.

Alex first noticed Nate, who had a Fresh Water in his hands. "Ah, you're here too." He noted, going to sit down.

Nate nodded. "Yeah, I snuck in once I was done my match with Clay. I was able to catch your match with the Prof. here."

Garrick smiled. "Ah, yes." he cleared his throat. "As most of you know by now, I'm Professor Hazel, from the Hoenn region. I study Pokemon Behaviour and Psychology.

Hilbert crossed his arms to think. "Prof. Hazel... I'm pretty sure I've read your papers before."

Garrick chuckled. "Adventuring and interacting with many different Pokémon has always been a passion of mine, ever since I was a young trainer like you." He pointed out. "You could say that's what lead me here." He flashed a wink at Alex and Alex nodded.

Rosa put her hands together, leaning in. "That's so cool!" She exclaimed, before leaning back. "You know, I've always wanted to be a professor too! Going around the world, finding out how things work and why things are the way they are... I'd love that!"

Garrick smiled. "I see. What was your name, Miss?" He asked. "I didn't get to see your battle."

Rosa struck a pose. "My name is Rosa Waters, Of Aspertia City!" The pose quickly fell. "I know it's not a tree name, but I think I can make it work."

Garrick shook his head. "Your last name doesn't necessarily have to be a tree name to be a Professor actually; you can just have the tree name be a sort of Pen name; as in, you could be Ms. Waters in truth, while being called something like... Professor Maple in professional settings."

Rosa thought about that name, putting her index finger to her chin. "Professor... Maple, huh? Not a bad ring to it..." Rosa nodded. "Thank you for the advice, Prof. Hazel! I'd have to decide on what to focus on though..."

Hilbert spoke up. "I'm sure you'll find something, Rosa." He chuckled. "Though in order to be a Prof., you have to be an Aide to an existing one, let alone beat the Pokemon League."

Nate raised his eyebrows. "What like what that girl Bianca is doing?" He asked. Hilbert chuckled when he heard her name.

Garrick snapped his fingers and nodded. "Precisely. Being an Aide of a regional professor is best, rather than a smaller professor like me; gets you more experience with the job." He noted. "In that sense, becoming an Aide of Prof. Juniper would probably be your best course of action, Rosa. Talk to her about it once you beat the Pokemon league." He advised, and Rosa nodded.

Hilbert took note of the only Pokemon in the room. "I can see you like to keep your Swampert out of his Pokeball." He noted.

Garrick looked at Dacre before turning back too Hilbert. "Dacre? To be honest, he's the one who likes to stay out. I don't mind it."

Nate leaned in. "So he's your signature Pokemon, in a sense?" He asked.

Garrick chuckled as he and Dacre exchanged looks. "You could say that, Yeah." They said in unison.

Rosa gasped. "Wow! You two are so in sync! Like true partners in crime!"

Dacre and Garrick squinted at Rosa. Garrick spoke first. "Partners in Crime?"

Dacre crossed his arms. "In sync? Can you hear me too?"

Nate raised his eyebrows. "Too? Wait, Prof., can you talk to Pokemon as well?"

Garrick smiled. "I suppose we all can, huh?" He noted.

Everyone laughed at this realization. Hilbert smirked."... And mother told me and sis it was rare... here I am 8 years later sitting at a table with 4 different people who can do it too. Haha!"

Garrick chuckled. "Well, it is very much the reason why I've been able to excel in my field of Pokemon Psychology as much as I have." He noted.

Alex nodded. "I'd say. Body language can only take you so far, before you're left guessing; while being able to actually talk to them elevates it to being like human psychology, pretty much."

Hilbert sighed. "That's the truth of it all, isn't it? Pokemon really aren't all that different from us humans, huh?"

Garrick snapped his fingers. "Indeed. Even though we aren't cut from the same cloth, the similarities are there enough that we are able to interact meaningfully, even without being able to talk directly."

Rosa spoke up. "I remember hearing that Pokemon don't actually completely understand us either, without being able to talk directly; but they can always gather the meaning and emotion behind what we're saying."

Garrick nodded. "Very true. Perhaps it's all to do with what is instinctual to both us and Pokemon." He noted. "Think about it. No matter if you're from Hoenn or Unova or Kalos or Alola, many of the same mannerisms carry over. Waving to say goodbye, bowing and saluting to show respect, smiling when we're happy and frowning when we're sad; it shows up everywhere. No matter the culture, everyone does it; and so do Pokemon." He explained. "Many of what we call 'our' mannerisms are present within our Pokemon; sometimes they even act just like their trainers as they grow closer."

Rosa began to nod. "Which explains why you two are so in sync!" She exclaimed, excitedly. "I get it!" She clapped.

Nate chuckled. "I'm learning so much, and we've only talked for a half-an-hour." He noted.

Garrick smiled. "Well, good! Teaching new trainers is always one of a professor's highest priorities, and I'm no exception." He noted.

After a small bit of silence, Alex decided to bring it up. "So uh, Hilbert?"

Hilbert looked over. "Yeah, Alex? What's on your mind?"

Alex looked down. "Well, it's just... After our match in the PWT, what did you mean by 'good AND bad things are coming my way'?"

[Music: Icy Sanctum (Arrangement 2) From PMD:GTI]

Everyone grunted, and expressions went grim. Hilbert sighed. "Oh yeah... so look. As you know I'm from Nuvema, and many Nuvemans can actually see the future in a... limited sense. Mostly only from the ocean breeze and whenever it feels like happening."

Nate butted in. "Wait wait wait, is the bad stuff something to do with Team Plasma?"

Hilbert looked at him awkwardly, as he took his thunder. "Ye-yeah it has everything to do with them. How did you..."

Nate leaned back. "Rosa and I have been fighting them with our rival Hugh a bit here and there since we ran into a few grunts at Floccesy Ranch." He noted.

Hilbert crossed his arms. "Is that right..." he shook his head. "Anyways, them being back doesn't bode well. We all need to keep up our guard the next couple of days." He noted.

A tense aura filled the space. Garrick sighed. "And here I was thinking I wouldn't have to worry about some kind of evil team again." He noted.

Alex gasped. "Oh yeah, you would have been a trainer when Team Aqua and Team Magma were new, right?"

Garrick nodded. "Indeed. I ended up helping out the now Petalburg Gym Leader Brendan Russel with a lot of it. While he was the one to deal with Team Aqua, I dealt with Team Magma. I was also the one to actually get Rayquaza's help with the situation." An uneasy silence filled the space.

[Music: v-Wheeeeeel! From PMD:GTI]

Nate smiled, to try to break up the tense air. "Well Prof., You don't have to worry! We'll take care of it!" He exclaimed. "You can have your vacation, while we stop Team Plasma once and for all."

Garrick raised his eyebrows and smirked. "My time in Unova is far from a 'vacation'; a Professor is always working, no matter where they may be because research can always be done. I thank you for the sentiment, even still." Garrick sighed and got up. "Well trainers, I believe my time here is up. I need to get going."

Hilbert nodded, getting up too. "Yeah, I can understand that. It was good meeting you, Prof. Hazel." He put his hand out for a handshake.

Garrick chuckled and returned the handshake. "Please, call me Garrick. I'm no better a trainer than you are. It was good meeting you too." Garrick tipped his hat at all of them. "Well, I'll see you all around Unova." He walked towards the doors to outside the PWT, with Dacre close behind him.

Rosa waved. "Goodbye Prof.!" She said.

Alex nodded. "See ya prof., Dacre! Take it easy now!"

Hilbert turned to the rest of them and stretched. "Well, that's that. I'm gonna go too. I'll probably stick closer than he will though. Something tells me they're near."

Alex tilted his head. "Who's near? Team Plasma?"

Hilbert snapped his fingers. "Bingo. Be wary, guys. Keep an eye out."

Nate nodded. "Right. Don't worry if you see a member in a white suit though. Team Plasma wear black suits now. The ones in the white suits are part of Rood's anti-team-Plasma organization, Team Blaze."

Hilbert raised his eyebrows. "Rood? As in, Cornell Rood of the Seven Sages of Plasma?"

Rosa nodded. "Yeah. Their base is here in Driftveil, actually." She noted. "It's on a hill right next to the gym."

Hilbert crossed his arms. "I see. Maybe I'll go and see." He turned around to leave. "Well, see ya. Make sure to call me if you see anything, ok Nate?"

Nate pumped his fist. "Got it!" He said.


	4. Chapter 4: Plasmatic Return

The next day, as Nate took on the PWT with Hugh, Who they met up a little bit before they entered; Alex let Rosa take on Clay while he prepares for his own battle with Clay.

[Location: Driftveil City, Unova; June 24, 2012AD; 12:00pm]

[Music: Driftveil City from Pokemon Black]

As he's walking back to the gym to meet with Rosa, his XTransceiver begins to ring. He answers it and sees Nate, Rosa and Hilbert. Nate looked panicked. "Guys. Plasma's here."

Everyone's eyes went wide. Rosa spoke up. "Where?"

Nate nodded. "They ran towards the PWT's port. Cheren and Hugh followed them."

Hilbert raised his eyebrows. "Cheren's here too?"

Nate shrugged. "Yeah, he entered the tournament before I did. We fought too, it went good. Not the point though."

Hilbert nodded. "I'm on my way. Rosa, Alex, make it there too. We need all we can get."

Alex and Rosa responded almost immediately. "Right!" The call ended and they both ran towards the PWT, meeting up at the crossroad, and catching up with Hilbert at the PWT building before going to the dock themselves.

* * *

[Location: Mysterious Boat, PWT Docks, Driftveil City, Unova; June 24, 2012AD; 12:15 pm]

[Music: Zinzolin's Theme from Pokemon black 2]

By the time Alex, Rosa and Hilbert had gotten on the boat, they found Nate, Hugh and Cheren surrounded by Neo Team Plasma grunts.

One of the Grunts flinched. "Dammit. More of them?"

Nate, Hugh, and Cheren all looked over at Alex, Rosa, and Hilbert. "Rosa!" Nate called out.

Hugh smirked. "Alex!"

Cheren tilted his head. "Hilbert?" He questioned, not expecting to see him.

Hilbert chuckled. "Surprise." He said before jazz handing.

The grunts whispered to each other then one yelled for their boss. "Boss! We need you to come up here!" Out from the stairwell came a large man with a purple coat with a black stripe in the middle that had the Team Plasma logo on it.

Cheren and Hilbert flinched when they saw the man. Hilbert growled. "Zinzolin!" He yelled.

Cheren grunted. "Aren't you that guy who was shivering at the Cold Storage?"

Zinzolin scoffed. "To think I'd see you two meddling trainers again." He noted. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to fight today, but so be it. Barret Bradley! To me!" A grunt went to his side and the two grabbed Pokéballs.

Hilbert looked back at Alex and Rosa, "Help the others fight the grunts! Cheren and I will take Zinzolin." Alex and Rosa nodded. Alex ran over to Hugh to help him, and Rosa ran over to Nate.

Hugh chuckled, looking at Alex. "Get ready, Alex, I'm already fired up."

[Music: Team Neo Plasma Grunt Battle from PKMNB2]

Alex nodded, grabbing a poke ball. "We've got this, Hugh!" Hugh sent out his Pignite and Alex sent out Emile; as the grunts brought out a Grimer and a Koffing. Alex chuckled. "You chose the same starter as me!"

Hugh raised his eyebrows. "Funny how that works." He cracked his neck and he put his hand out. "Pignite, use Heat Crash on Koffing!"

Alex mirrored Hugh. "Emolga, use Spark on the Grimer." Emile charged at the Grimer with electrical energy, and the Grimer took it well. Emile then kept flying around the area. On the other hand, Hugh's Pignite grunted and jumps into the air and becomes surrounded by a sphere of yellow-orange flames. Pignite then flies down to the Koffing and crashes down on them, resulting in an explosion. Pignite jumped out of the smoke, leaving the Koffing fainted.

one of the grunts snapped his fingers and returned the Koffing, bringing out a Watchog. The Grimer then began to cough up purple smoke.

Hugh grunted. "Guys, Cover your mouths!" He exclaimed, doing as he said.

Emile spoke up. "What?" The Grimer sneezed and poisonous gas filled the space. Alex covered his mouth as soon as he could but Emile and Pignite weren't prepared. They breathed in and coughed. Emile even had to ground himself in order to get his breath. "Ch-cheeky." He managed to say.

Alex shook his head. "Power through it, Emolga! Use spark on the Watchog!" He said. Emile shakily nodded and flew at the Watchog with electric energy, but the Watchog detected this, and dodged faster then Emile could see, before appearing behind Emile.

Hugh grunted. "Pignite! Rollout on that Grimer!" He noted. Coughing Pignite nodded and began to glow red, before somersaulting towards the Grimer. The Grimer collapsed itself, however, like the gooey blob it is, and Pignite rolls right over him, missing anything substantial. The Grimer then bounced back up, launching a ball of sludge right on Pignite, Who was starting to stop rolling. He turned back growling.

Emile went at the Watchog again with his acrobatics, and while it did knock the Watchog against the railings of the boat, the Watchog jumped back at Emile, crunching down on him with his front teeth, before tossing against the wall in front of the Watchog like a sack of potatoes. Emile slumped down to the ground, fainted.

The plasma grunts high-fives and Alex returns Emile to his Pokeball, growling. He sent out Anise in response. Hugh grunts. "Pignite, use Heat Crash on the Grimer. Get him out of the way!" Pignite nods. He leaps into the air and crashes into the Grimer, covered in flames, resulting in an explosion. He jumped out of the smoke, but the Grimer still stood strong. The Grimer then shot another ball of sludge at Pignite, only angering it more.

The Watchog, then jumped at Pignite, doing to Pignite what he did to Emile, and crunching him. Pignite fell over, fainted and the plasma grunts high-five again. Hugh grunted and sent out his Tranquill.

Alex put away Emile's Pokeball and turned to Anise. "Double-kick the Watchog." Anise nodded, and ran at the Watchog and bounced off of it with her hind hooves, effectively dropkicking it. She landed gracefully, and the Watchog toppled over.

The plasma grunt that owned the Watchog stomped, returned the Watchog and ran off back into the ship's interior. The Grimer however, took note of this and launched a sludge bomb on Anise, covering her completely, she stumbled before falling over.

Alex growled. "You!" Alex sent out his newly caught Marril, Azure, as the remaining grunt chuckled. "Azure! Double-edge." Alex noted.

Azure nodded. "You got it!" Azure then ran at the Grimer with all he had, white streaks of light coming from behind him as he did it. When Azure ran into The Grimer, it flew back before flattening out on the ground, fainted.

The grunt growled and brought out his last Pokemon, a Raticate. The Raticate immediately ran at Hugh's Tranquill with its two front teeth growing white and chomped down on the Tranquill hard. The Tranquill got out of the Raticate's grasp. Tranquill then turned to face Azure, and turned his head. "Ready?" He asked Azure.

Azure nodded and squared up. Quickly, Azure looked at Alex. "Ready?"

Alex realized what they meant. "Hugh, I think they want to attack at the same time."

Hugh smirked. "Let's go for it then." They both put out their hands.

"Azure, do Aqua Tail!"

"Air cutter!"

Tranquill and Azure nodded, and Tranquil slashed the air with both wings launching a blue X-shaped shockwave at the Raticate, and Azure ran at the Raticate with his tail enveloped in water, and as soon as the shockwave hit the Raticate, Azure slapped Raticate with its tail. The resulting attack launched the Raticate to the railing.

[Music: Zinzolin's Theme from PKMNB2]

The plasma grunt sighed, before returning the Raticate and running to the inside of the ship. Alex and Hugh turned to the rest of the group, who were all finishing their battles.

Zinzolin growled as he returned his last Pokemon. Cheren crossed his arms. "Alright Zinzolin, you're going to have to tell me what you're doing don this ship."

Zinzolin sighed. "Fine. If I must tell you, we will use the legendary Dragon-type Pokémon and we will rule the Unova region! However, curious Trainers, we shall not let you run around as you please!" Zinzolin put his left hand up and snapped it. "Shadow Triad! Get them out of here!"

Hilbert and Cheren's Eyes went wide but before they could say anything, Alex and Co. we're knocked out.

One of the Shadow Triad members grunted. "You know, Sage Zinzolin, we are not your-"

Zinzolin cut him off. "I know! But kick them out of here now! Get them off the ship. They don't need to cause any more trouble than they have." Zinzolin walked back inside the ship, and the Shadow triad tossed them neatly on to the docks.

* * *

"Alex! Wake up!"

[Location: PWT Docks, Driftveil City, Unova; June 24, 2012AD; 1:00pm]

[Music: Driftveil City from Pokemon Black]

Alex jolted up, groggily. "R... Ryouma?" He mumbled, slowly opening his eyes. "Oh! Rosa." He opened his eyes to Rosa and Nate squatted down beside him, while Hilbert and Cheren looked over the port. Hugh was already gone.

Rosa gave Alex a strange look for a second before shaking her head. Nate stood up and put out his hand to Alex. "Need help standing?" Alex nodded and took Nate's hand and stood up. Rosa stood up with him.

Alex turned to face Hilbert, just as Hilbert and Cheren Turned to face Alex. Alex spoke up. "Hilbert, Who... Who was that on the boat?"

Hilbert raised his eyebrows. "Zinzolin, you mean?" Alex nodded. Hilbert and Cheren exchanged looks, and Hilbert nodded back. "He's Tyrian Zinzolin of Seven Sages of Plasma."

Cheren continued. "The Seven Sages were essentially team plasma's head council. Of them, were Zinzolin, Rood, Fulvio Giallo, Mido Ryoku, Sumra Bronius, and Gethsis Harmonius, who served as Team Plasma's de facto leader.

Hilbert chuckled. "I'm surprised Gethsis only got Zinzolin out. As far as I know, all of the Sages besides Gethsis, Zinzolin and Rood are serving their sentences."

Rosa raised her eyebrows. "But how do we know that Gethsis is out?"

Hilbert put up a finger. "One, a week after I shut down Plasma, I ran into the Shadow Triad in Icirrus City. They told me they got him out as they were still loyal to him, but also said they had lost sight of him, and Gethsis had told them not to look for him." He put up another finger. "Two, if he was still in jail, this wouldn't be happening. Team Plasma is Gethsis's Magnum Opus; he wouldn't let that die out without a fight."

Alex crossed his arms. "Shadow Triad? That's what knocked us out, right?"

Cheren nodded. "They're Gethsis's bodyguards, in a sense. I'm surprised they responded to Zinzolin so fast, despite not being his to command."

Hilbert shook his head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we move on and keep an eye out for anything more from Team Plasma."

Nate, Rosa and Alex nodded their heads. "Right!" They all said.

Hilbert sighed in relief. "I'm going to make some more visits around Unova. I'll try to predict what exactly Team Plasma's planning. I'll message you if I find anything, ok Nate?"

Nate brushed his thumb under his nose. "Yeah. I'll keep you posted if I see any more of Team Plasma."

Hilbert gave him a thumbs-up. "Good." He turned to face the PWT building. "See ya, guys!" He waved as he left.

Rosa waved back. "See ya, Hilbert!"

Cheren turned from Hilbert to face Alex and Co. he clasped his hands together. "Alright. Rosa, Nate, meet me on Route 6." Cheren noted. "I have something to give you all." Cheren then left the scene as Hilbert did.

Alex pumped his fist and turned to Rosa and Nate. "Alright. Nate? Rosa? If it's ok with you, can we go back to Driftveil Gym before we meet up with... Cheren, wasn't it?"

Rosa nodded. "We've been calling him Mr. Easton, but yeah, we can do that." Alex and Co. left the PWT for Clay's gym and Alex Beat him easily, with the help of Azure.


	5. Chapter 5: Unbreakable Bonds

[Location: Route 6, Unova; June 24, 2012AD; 2:17pm]

[Music: Route 6 (summer) from Pokemon Black]

Cheren pulled 3 blue CDs out of his bag. "These are the HM Surf, allowing you to cross any Body of Water, as long as you have the Pokemon for the job."

Alex and co each took a Surf HM. Alex chuckled. "Thanks, Mr. Easton!"

Cheren nodded. "Good luck on your journey, all of you." Cheren then walked past them, to Driftveil.

Alex and co. kept walking down Route 6. Nate put his hands on the back of his neck. "So, Mistralton City, Right?"

Alex shook his head. "I need to go to Mistralton Cave first, actually." He noted, stopping Rosa and Nate in their tracks.

Nate raised his eyebrows and put down his hands. "Really? Mistralton Cave? Why there?" Mistralton Cave was a cave across from a river in Route 6. It's only accessible through surfing on a Pokémon. Luckily, they just got Surf.

Alex turned back to Nate. "Well, you see Nate... There are Axews there. And, if I remember correctly, they can be a great powerhouse, correct?" Alex replied; hiding his true reason, which of course being because Mistralton Cave is one of the few places he could meet Ryouma again.

Rosa crossed her arms. "Wait a second, Alex. Aren't Axews like, really rare in there? Do you really think you'll get lucky again like you did with your Emolga?" She asked.

Alex turned to Rosa. "What? Do you doubt me, Rosa?" He asked. "How do you know I won't find one?"

Nate shrugged. "There is such a thing as 'Gambler's Fallacy', you know..." Nate added.

Alex turned back towards the cave. "I know and I don't care. Let's go." Alex shrugged, getting ready to Surf to it, using his Marril.

* * *

***a few minutes later***

[Location: Mistralton Cave, Unova; June 24 2012; 2:20 pm]

[Music: Danger! From Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity]

As soon as they entered the cave, they all heard a commotion coming from some of the wild Pokémon there. They noticed an Axew running from an Excadrill, a Drilbur, and a Swoobat. They had it up against a wall.

The Excadrill chuckled, seemingly not noticing the three Trainers who just came in. "Well well… What now, Ryouma? You've got nowhere to run." He noted. The Axew seemed to notice Alex and Co. however.

'Ryouma' grunted. "Doesn't mean... I'm not alone." 'Ryouma' instinctively said.

The Swoobat giggled. "Not alone? Ha, of course you… Are…" the Swoobat started to say before noticing the Alex and co.

The Excadrill chuckled. "Oh, I see. You're looking for a fight too, huh? Bring it." The Excadrill turned to Alex and co., as did the Drilbur and the Swoobat, giving 'Ryouma' a chance to run away.

'Ryouma' looked at Alex and Squinted. "Wait, why does that blond Trainer look familiar?" 'Ryouma' thought to himself. "Doesn't matter, actually. I need to get out of the way!" He limply scurried out of the way.

Alex grunted. "Emolga! Let's go!" Alex exclaimed, tossing a Pokéball up, releasing the Emolga inside.

Emile gasped. "Wait, why me?" Emile asked before noticing the Swoobat. "… Oh." He then noticed the Axew in the background "… Ohhh, I see now…

Nate Nodded. "Go! Xander!" Nate tossed his Pokéball up, sending out his Servine, as Rosa did the same with her Dewott.

[Music: Boss Battle From PMD:GTI]

The battle started as the Swoobat blows a pink heart at Emile from her snout, exploding on impact. "Emolga, use Spark!" Alex ordered. After he said that, blue sparks came from Emile's cheeks as he became surrounded in electric energy. He then rammed into The Swoobat, knocking it back.

The Excadrill grunted. "Why don't you try THIS on for size?" It slammed its claws into the ground, making the walls of the cave begin to shake, causing a Rock Slide all around them. Emile was able to barely dodge it, while Kevin and Xander were hit with the brunt of it. They struggled to get the rocks off of them. "Darude. Start up a sandstorm, will ya?" The Excadrill ordered, and as he did, Darude jumped up and dived claws first, spinning on the ground, eventually kicking up a dust tornado that expanded across the room, simulating a real sandstorm.

As the Sandstorm raged on, The Excadrill charged at Kevin, and slashed him, with his large claws, almost knocking him out. The Swoobat tried to get up but noticed that it couldn't. It was paralyzed by Emile's static. "Oh, come on… you wouldn't make a girl like me stay down like this, would you?" She appealed to Emile seductively.

Emile chuckled. "Hah, 'A girl like you'? Certainly." He replied, sending a thunderbolt at the Swoobat. She screamed before fainting. Emile then struck a triumphant pose. "My eyes are only for the most legendary of ladies!" He exclaimed. This response made Rosa give Alex a disapproving side glare, to which he shrugged.

The Excadrill grunted. "Darude, dig. I got this." The Excadrill said as Darude burrowed into the ground, fittingly like a drill.

Kevin scoffed. "No you don't." Kevin replied, grabbing his shells and jumping at Excadrill, doing two slashes at its chest. The Excadrill grunted in pain and slumped down.

Kevin looked around the Cave. "Now, where is that Drilbur going to come from?" Kevin asked.

Xander nodded. "I'll send vines down to try and find him." Xander said, as vines looped into the ground and dug around.

Suddenly the ground started to crack below Emile. As he jumped up, the Drilbur came out of the ground below Emile. "Over here!" Emile said, hovering just above the Drilbur. The vines then came out of the ground beside Drilbur and lashed, sending him to the wall. "Is it really a good idea to use a ground attack on a flying type?" Emile rhetorically questioned, slowly descending.

[Music: Touched by Kindness from PMD:GTI]

Emile leaped on to Alex's shoulder, and Alex squats down to the Axew, Who flinches and cowers into the shoulder. Alex then pulls out a Super Potion and sprays the Axew with it, healing its wounds almost instantly. The Axew opened its eyes and felt its wounds, noticing that they were completely healed; He then turned to face Alex completely. Alex clapped his hands. "Alright! Good as new." Alex said. "You mind telling me your name, little guy?"

The Axew hesitated for a second."... "I-it's Ryouma... Ryouma Kiba. Th- thank you for saving me there. I... I don't know what I would have done if you guys didn't show up."

Alex smiled. It was Ryouma all along; "Mission Complete." He thought to himself. "Tell me Ryouma, why are you here? Your name... it's not really that 'Unovan', y'know?"

Ryouma looked away. "I... Well..." Ryouma hesitated still. "I'm not really from here. I was born in an egg from Johto. As such, my name is Johtan. After I hatched, I was sent off to a Trainer here in Unova. My mast- no, that Trainer, he… didn't like how I turned out, apparently. He always called me 'Too weak'. He just sort of... left me here alone."

A voice spoke out from the depths of the cave. "Ryouma? Where are you?" another Pokémon called from the darkness. It turned out to be a Boldore.

Ryouma lighted up immediately. "Rodger!" Ryouma exclaimed, running to the Boldore to hug them. "Sorry I took so long. The Drilbur gang came to attack me, but luckily these Trainers saved me. What's more is that they seem to understand us!"

The Boldore turned to face Alex and Co. "Oh really? ... Well, I can't thank you enough, Trainers. I'm Rodger Winston. I'm Ryouma's guardian, so to say. Since the time when he was released here, I've given him a place to call home, here in Mistralton Cave." The Boldore introduced, with a bit of a British accent.

Alex chuckled. "Heh, it's nice to meet you, Rodger. I'm Alex Gates, and these are my friends Nate Waters, and Rosa Waters."

Suddenly, Ryouma jumped in response to Alex's introduction. "You... You're... No, it can't be!" He exclaimed, his voice shaking.

Alex smirked, "Oh it can be, my friend. Remember this?" Alex brought out the Frism.

Ryouma's eyes grew wide, as tears began to swell up. "A... Alex!" Ryouma cried, going to hug him. He was full-on bawling now. "When I... When I saw you rising in the sky with... with Hydreigon, I though... I thought... I thought I would never see you again...!" It was not tears of sadness; not even remotely close. It was tears of happiness. He had met his partner once again; his one true friend.

Alex sighed. "I... I thought the same thing, Ryouma..." Alex replied softly, beginning to cry himself. "When I found myself back here I... I thought... no, I knew, I wouldn't see you, or Emolga, or Hydreigon or anyone from Post Town or Paradise ever again. But this guy named 'Professor Hazel' taught me otherwise."

Nate, Rosa and Rodger were all very confused. This 'reunion' is heart-warming and all, but they had no idea what exactly they're talking about. "Uhh... Care to explain, Alex?" Rosa asked.

Alex shook his head. "Long story; don't ask. We probably don't have much time before the Drilburs wake up again anyways." He replied, fully crying now.

Ryouma pulled away from the hug to face Rodger. "Rodger... Can I... Can I go with him?" He asked, still tearing up a little bit.

Rodger turned to face Ryouma. "With that Trainer? ... Well, since you two seem to know each other, sure." He supposed. "However, Trainer! If you are going to take him, you better take care of him and treat him better than that last Trainer, okay?"

Alex smiled. "Oh don't worry, Mr. Winston, I'll take care of him. After what we've been through, it wouldn't even cross my mind for a second." Alex reassured, wiping his tears. He then pulled out a great ball. "Ready to go?" He asked, to which Ryouma nodded. Alex then opened the Great ball and captured Ryouma in a red aura. It shook three times before dinging, effectively capturing him.

However, Ryouma immediately came out of the Great ball, to sit on Alex's shoulder. "Would you mind if I stayed outside of my Pokéball most of the time?" He asked.

Alex shook his head. "Not at all, Ryouma; do whatever you want." Alex chuckled. He was just happy that he met his friend once again.

Nate turned to face Alex. "Where to next, Alex?" Nate asked.

Alex smirked. "Mistralton City, of course. Where else?" Alex replied, turning to leave. "Let's go."

Rodger called out to them. "Don't forget to visit every now and then, Ryouma!" Rodger called.

Alex chuckled and waved. "Don't worry, Mr. Winston. We will." Alex replied.


	6. Chapter 6: The Liseran Family Incident

***one day later***

[Location: Reversal Mountain Lentimas Entrance, Unova; June 25, 2012AD; 1:30 pm]

[Music: The route to Reversal Mountain from PKMNB2]

After defeating the Mistralton City gym and arriving in Lentimas Town, Nate and Rosa split off from Alex and went inside the Reversal Mountain. Alex on the other hand… "Hmm? What's over that way?" Alex wondered, noticing a path to the right of Reversal Mountain's entrance with some very dark grass.

Ryouma quickly turned to Alex. "Maybe we should check it out!" Ryouma chirped, excitedly. After going through Mistralton City gym, Ryouma had evolved into a Fraxure.

Once they got through the dark grass and turned around, they not only saw a large Strange House, they also saw Professor Hazel standing outside of it. The house itself was very out of shape, especially for being made out of Clay, like most of the houses in the Lentimas Town area; and every window was boarded up, and the doors looked as if they were about ready to fall off their hinges.

Alex noticed Garrick almost immediately. "Oh! Hey, Prof. Hazel!" Alex called to him, catching his attention.

[Music: Rescue Team Base from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team Deluxe]

Garrick turned to face Alex. "Ah, Alex. It's good to see you again." Garrick greeted. "Now, who's this, Alex?" Garrick pointed to Ryouma. Ryouma jumped back surprised in response.

Ryouma gasped. "Huh? Do you mean me? I'm... I'm Ryouma Kiba." Ryouma introduced, shyly. "Pst, Alex! Who's this guy?" He whispered to Alex, though it seemed that Garrick heard him.

Garrick smirked. "I'm Professor Hazel; you call me Garrick if you want. I'm... a bit of a traveller. Sometimes I help people on request and sometimes I just do it for fun." Garrick introduced, bowing in traditional Hoennese Style.

Ryouma lit up. "Oh, another human who can talk to Pokémon! So, you're the one who gave Alex the idea of finding me and Emolga, huh? Well, Garrick, I can't thank you enough." Ryouma replied.

Garrick smiled. "Heh, The pleasure is all mine, Ryouma. Wait, Alex, didn't you say your partner Ryouma was an Axew?" Garrick asked, confused. He wasn't really that knowledgeable in Unovan Pokémon, due to this being his first time in the region.

Ryouma smirked. "Axews like me evolve into Fraxures after a while!" Ryouma exclaimed, putting his claws on his 'hips'. "It's not our fully evolved form, but I'm still more powerful than before!"

Garrick nodded. "Ah, I see. That's good to know. Thank you Ryouma." Garrick thanked. "So! What brought you two here? Mere curiosity?" He asked, to which they nodded. "I doubt it'll be all that safe for you two, but I suppose you could come with me inside. I was about to investigate it myself. A couple of Lentimasan rumours lead me here."

Suddenly, Dacre came out of his pokéball. "Garrick, are you sure about this? They're only children, like, 12!" He expressed.

Alex smirked. "Oh, don't worry. We've dealt with a Kyurem once! And that's a legendary Pokémon!" Alex boasted, matching Ryouma's pose from earlier. "Also, I'm 15, not 12!"

Ryouma broke from the pose and hastily turned to face Alex. "Alex! Why are you talking about that, here?!" Ryouma yelled, surprised. "You shouldn't just talk about him here! No one would understand!"

Garrick chuckled. "Actually, about that Ryouma." Garrick began, squatting to his level. "You shouldn't worry about that; I've heard the whole story from Alex."

Ryouma's arms descended. "You... You told him?" Ryouma asked, almost sounding disappointed.

Alex shrugged. "What choice did I have? He visited me so that he could tell me how to deal with 'losing' you!" Alex replied. "I had to tell him so that he'd understand!"

Dacre stepped forward. "Alright, you two. If we're going in, I'd suggest that we do it now." Dacre noted.

Garrick nodded. "Indeed. Let's head in." Garrick agreed, taking the lead.

* * *

[Location: Strange House 1F Lobby, Unova; June 25, 2012AD; 1:45 pm]

[Music: Strange House from PKMNB2]

The house was as unmanaged on the inside as it was on the outside. Furniture was all ajar and quite dirty; there were cracks all over the walls and the floor. There were two doors on the first floor, with three more if you go up the stairs on either side of the house or the one right in front of the front door, and two stairs leading to a basement near the second-floor stairs. Despite being inside and being near an inactive Volcano, it was incredibly cold in the house.

"Wh- why is it s-so cold in here? ..." Alex chattered, shivering.

"I'm not quite sure; rumour did speak of ghost people but take that with a grain of salt. That being said, I can tell you that this is no ordinary 'chill'. I've been in Sinnoh enough times and been around Ice-types enough times to know how it feels to be really cold. Be on your best guard, boys." The professor noted. "It might be best for us to split up. Just treat this as if it's a Mystery Dungeon. I'm sure the four of us have all seen our fair share of those, haven't we?" Garrick suggested, winking.

Alex's expression lit up like a Christmas tree once again. "A-Alright! I c-can do that. C-Come on out, Emolga!" Alex replied, sending out Emile. He also sent out Blaise, who was now an Emboar. "I'm g-going to need you to k-keep me warm, b-Blaise. P-Please, d-don't leave any b-burn marks, Th-though. I h-hate those. T-Takes forever to g-get them off." Alex requested.

Blaise smiled nervously. "Trust me; I'm aware of that, Alex." Blaise assured, nodding. "I'll be as careful as I can be."

Emile surveyed the surroundings from atop Blaise's head. "So how're we doing this? Who's going where?" Emile Asked.

Garrick turned to face Emile. "I suppose our main objective here is to find out what happened here and why it's so abandoned. I'm going to go downstairs, to see if I can find anything useful." Garrick answered, making his way to the stairwell.

Alex shakily nodded. "I g-guess I'll he-head into one of the rooms here." Alex said. Since the room to Alex's left was blocked by a flowerpot, he decided to go in the one on his right.

* * *

[Location: Strange House B1, Unova; June 25, 2012; 1:46 pm]

The basement turned out to be a very messy Library. The bookshelves themselves weren't too bad, but there were chairs all over the place, as well as a lamp that flickered every two seconds. It was somewhat warmer here; maybe even the warmest room in the whole house, but the unnerving atmosphere was still ever-present.

Dacre walked up to Garrick. "Garrick, are you sure Alex and them can handle this? We both know firsthand that stats and abilities don't carry over between worlds." Dacre expressed, certainly concerned. Garrick defiantly couldn't blame him; this wasn't that good for youngsters like them. "And are you sure he isn't lying about his age?"

Hiroshi smirked as he scanned the bookshelf. "Consider this me testing his willpower and leadership skills. By and large, we haven't seen him in action, Be it battle wise, or Dungeoneering wise. The boy has interested me since the day I got the report on him, and he continues to remind me of our early days." Garrick replied, skimming through the books on the shelves. "Also Dacre, the minimum Trainer age in Unova is higher than it is in Hoenn: it's 15 here, from what I've heard." Dacre looked rather skeptical before shaking his head and moving on.

One book then caught his eye. The book's title was 'Darkrai: God of Nightmares'; made in 2009, The book talked about Darkrai of Fullmoon Island; the titular Sinnohan Pokémon that is normally feared as the 'God of Nightmares' as per Sinnohan folklore, known to cause never-ending nightmares, unless you can cure the curse with a Lunar Wing, a magical feather from the Sinnohan Goddess of Dreams, Cresselia Of Fullmoon Island. Darkrai was said to normally mean no harm unless provoked, but in recent years Garrick had noticed that it wasn't really the case; at least, not anymore.

Garrick skimmed the pages of the book. It's written mostly textbook-like, describing Darkrai and Cresselia and talking about both old legends and urban myth stories about them, such as the Canalavan Nightmares of December 4th, where Darkrai haunted locals of Canalave City every year since 2005 for no apparent reason (though without Cresselia being not too far behind to stop the nightmares as much as possible); not to mention the story of the son of Sailor Rubert Eldritch, Ron Eldritch, who was similarly haunted in 1999 after a fishing trip with Rubert; until the current champion of Sinnoh, Lucas White, was able to give the Eldritchs a Lunar Wing Lucas had gotten after meeting with Cresselia at Fullmoon Island.

Curiously, there was another story of Darkrai protecting the Sinnohan town of Alamos from destruction as Dialga and Palkia fought once; messing with Alamos's space-time placement.

Garrick sighed, flipping through the book. "Sinnoh always had its flair for mythological tales, huh? Only Kalos comes remotely close... Now, why is this book here, I wonder? ... The previous owner of this house must have either been Sinnohan or at the very least, had ordered it from Sinnoh. That does somewhat allow me to somewhat reconcile with this chill. What do you think, Dacre? Should we take this with us?" He asked, closing the book with a slam, and turning to face Dacre.

* * *

***meanwhile, with Alex***

[Strange House 1F Eastern Room, Unova; June 25, 2012AD; 1:45 pm]

The room was probably one of the cleaner rooms in the whole house. Carpet aside, nothing was really ajar. The bed was made and very clean; even the floor was clean. But the thing with this room was that it was much colder than the lobby room. The irregular chill was all too apparent here.

Alex sighed and grasped his arms. "H-Huh... could it get any c-colder here?" Alex chattered. The cleanliness of the room mystified Alex. "If this place is so abandoned, why is this room so clean, while the hallway is so... not?" Alex thought. His attentions lead him to a picture on the wall; it was a map of the Sinnoh Region. Why it was here, Alex couldn't even try to guess, but he suddenly like he was being watched.

Slowly, he turned around to see a somewhat young-looking man with a big backpack. His skin was very pale and his hair was very messy. His eyes looked completely dead, with no Pupils, just big Brown dead eyes. This scared Alex, and he jumped back. "J-Jeez, don't scare me like Th-that!" He yelled. But then he noticed something. "H-hey Wait, aren't you that Boone guy I fought at the PWT?" He asked, pointing.

Alex's recognition went ignored. "Do you know the story of Liseran Family?" Boone asked, in a monotone, ghastly voice. Nothing about this man seemed even a little bit alive, as it did at the PWT. Was he really a ghost? Alex couldn't tell for sure.

Alex shakily shook his head. "Huh? ... N-No I don't..." he replied, still a bit spooked.

Boone began to lightly vibrate in place. "One day, many years ago... Liliana Liseran and her Abra went into an eternal slumber, supposedly because of a Pokémon named Darkrai. Luckily her Father, Boone Liseran, knew how to deal with this sort of thing; he thought he was prepared. Except... he wasn't. She slept and slept until... She and her Abra were dead." Boone then suddenly disappeared, just as he did at the PWT.

Then suddenly, Emolga fell to the ground, onto his belly, with a thump. Alex gasped. "E- Emolga!" Alex exclaimed. Going over to him, and turning him over. He almost seemed like he was asleep.

Ryouma shivered. "D-Did he just... faint? G-Gee, I thought he was stronger than this. I-If he t-turns out to be afraid of g-ghosts, he won't hear the end of it!" Ryouma chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. Alex on the other hand, wasn't sure if he had fainted or gone asleep, as the ghost said.

Alex chuckled. "C-Can't say I blame him though. He scared me too-" Suddenly, Emolga started to squirm and scream, as he was having a nightmare. This confirmed Alex's suspicions; Emolga was asleep, just like the ghost said.

Alex's heart leapt into his throat. "He... he's asleep... J-Just like the ghost said." Alex suddenly became worried he would lose him like the ghost said. Quickly, Alex searched his bag thoroughly and he didn't have any Awakenings on him, nor did he have anything else to cure his status condition. He couldn't tell if he was worrying too much, or not enough. He gulped. "W-We should probably ask Prof. Hazel; S-see if he has any Awakenings." Alex suggested to which Ryouma nodded. Alex then returned Emile to his pokéball.

* * *

[Strange House 1F Lobby, Unova; June 25, 2012AD; 1:46 pm]

As soon as Alex walked out of the room, not only did he notice that Garrick was sitting on the floor, using his Toshima laptop; he also noticed that the furniture had moved around the house. The Western room on the first floor was no longer closed off, and now the Western stairway and the eastern stairway to the second floor were both blocked off, leaving the middle stairway.

Garrick tapped the top of his laptop. "Don't ask about the furniture. It was like this when I came back up from the basement." Garrick noted. "Furthermore, I believe I understand why it's so cold here." He added turning his computer screen to show Alex. The screen was opened to the Bulbapedia page. Alex kneeled to look at the screen.

Garrick read it off. "Number 491 of the National Pokédex, as officially documented in February of the year 1998, Darkrai: the Pitch-Black Pokémon. A Sinnohan Legendary normally regarded as the God of Nightmares in Sinnohan legends, who can put people to sleep eternally until they either die or is cured using a Lunar Wing." He explained.

Garrick turned the computer back to himself. "There were many books on it in the basement, so I believe that it might have a... 'Hand', in at least some of the reason why it's so cold." He continued. "Why all the books are here and how Darkrai could have gotten here is beyond me though. There's never been an incident including Darkrai outside of Sinnoh for years. Honestly, this has me very interested."

Ryouma tilted his head. "How... So?" Ryouma asked, puzzled.

Garrick looked at Ryouma. "Well, as a Pokémon Professor, my focus is Pokémon Behavior and Psychology, though I do have at least some sort of experience with human psychology as well. For decades, not only have Darkrai been mentioned in myth to only be territorial, though that hasn't been completely the case in recent years, according to people in Sinnoh's Canalave City, among others."

Garrick closed his laptop and stood up. "Furthermore, there also haven't been any cases of Darkrai outside of Sinnoh for maybe 5 or more years, and even then that was rare as Darkrai are rather reclusive and often stay within their respective territory. As such, these 'facts' have made me very curious about what has happened here; after all, I've been to Canalave during Darkrai's supposed attack and if I remember correctly I don't remover seeing any sign of Darkrai or Cresselia." Garrick noted.

Dacre chuckled. "You also fell asleep halfway through the night." He commented.

Garrick grunted quickly turning to Dacre. "Oh, come on, you did too! That mission was a failure for both of us!" He sighed, and turned back to Alex. "In any case Alex, what did you find in the room there?" He asked.

Alex hesitated for a second. "Well, I Th-think I've got a good idea of what happened here t-too actually. For some reason, a Darkrai decided to put the d-daughter of a family who lived here to sleep, along with her Abra. The girl's father was apparently prepared for this sort of thing, but it seemed that it didn't work since they eventually died in their sleep." Alex explained.

Garrick raised his eyebrows. "What's this family's name? And who told you this?" Garrick asked, packing up his laptop.

Alex nodded. "The family's name was Liseran. I got all this from... a ghost, oddly enough." Alex replied. "A-also, Emolga suddenly went asleep as soon as I got this info. It seems he is having nightmares too, he kept on squirming and moaning..." he trailed off.

Garrick realized something about Alex's findings. "Wait a second... Liseran... Darkrai... No, it can't be... can it? ... Maybe..." Garrick thought out loud for a second, getting up from the floor and dusting himself off. "Tell me Alex: what trainer class did this 'ghost' look like?" The Trainer Class System determines what kind of person is as a trainer, and is normally given to a trainer through the local Regional Professor, sometimes straight from the local Pokémon League.

While Garrick's trainer class is simply Pokémon Professor, Alex is a Youngster class, which is defined as a young, male Trainer who just recently started their journey. With enough badges or type specialization though, he could expand from Youngster to any class he desired.

Alex thought for a second. "He was... A Backpacker, I think." Alex answered. Backpackers normally have a big backpack, and male backpackers normally go on to become Hiker classes. "I'm pretty sure I fought him at the PWT too; his name was... Boone, I think."

Garrick nodded. "Hmm... then it is that... You see, about... 8 years ago, the story of the Liseran Family Incident was circling the internet, with all reports on the subject mentioning Darkrai in some capacity." Garrick explained. "So the story goes like this: Boone Liseran fled from Sinnoh to Unova when his brother, Tobias Liseran died supposedly because of Darkrai, as the rumours went," Garrick explained. "Normally, it was just waved off as a creepypasta, but then things get interesting.

Garrick began to pace. "Afterwards, in Unova, Boone met A Psychic class Trainer named Lynette Esper, and the two eventually got married and had a child: Liliana Liseran, who apparently happened to inherit her Lynette's ability to read the minds of both people and Pokémon, effectively letting her speak to Pokémon."

Psychic trainers are known for... Well, their Psychokinetic powers, normally demonstrated by floating one or two poke balls in the air (though there have been cases of trainers demonstrating by reading someone's mind, like Lynette and Liliana here (though Lynette was also able to float pokéballs in the air, like the average Psychic Trainer)) **WITHOUT** the use of Strings or Pokémon in any capacity. Doing either of those **WILL NOT COUNT** towards the having Psychic Trainer Class. How these trainers get their PSI is always spotty, often being nothing more than luck of the draw, in a sense; much like those who can talk to Pokémon.

Garrick stopped pacing. "When Liliana and her Abra seemingly fell into a sleep-induced coma, Boone thought he was prepared but all attempts to cure her sleep failed for a currently unknown reason. A few weeks later, however, Boone and Lynette were found dead, presumably because of Darkrai. Why Darkrai did any of this is anyone's guess though. There were even sightings of Liliana two years ago, on the Marvelous Bridge here in Unova. Some say she was looking for Cresselia, but I was never quite convinced with that idea." He finished. "Although, I did hear about what happened after your match with Boone; how he disappeared and all? I suppose it does give the idea some more levity but I don't know why he'd be there if that's the case." He noted.

Suddenly, a young, monotone, feminine voice came from the upstairs. "For an outsider like you, it's surprising you know so much about our family." As soon as they heard that, they turned to the second floor, to see a pale-skinned girl. She had long, black hair, a blue and white schoolgirl top, and a blue skirt. She had brown shoes and long, black socks. She seemed to be a Lass class trainer. "However... you still only know half of the true story." She added, turning towards the middle door on the second floor, going right through it.

Alex blinked for a second. "Wait... did she say 'Our'?" Alex asked, unsure of what she meant.

Garrick looked at Alex. "... I think that might have been Liliana's ghost." Garrick answered, surprised. "Dacre, do we follow her?"

Dacre shrugged. "Got no choice otherwise, I guess. Let's go. Be on your best guard everyone!" Dacre exclaimed.

* * *

[Liseran House 2F Liliana's Room, Unova; June 25, 2012AD; 2:02 pm]

This room was the coldest of them all. The bizarre chill nigh filled the room; it was the coldest room in the whole house by a long shot. The room itself was still quite clean; possibly the cleanest room in the whole house. It showed no signs of disarray or wear, and the rug was perfectly clean, with no dust or wrinkles. The windows were perfectly clean, as was the Red trash can by the bed. All in all, nothing was really awry about the room, besides the unnerving atmosphere. If anything, the cleanliness only made it more unnerving.

They thought they'd see Liliana's ghost in the room, they instead saw a different, older woman. She had a white and lavender kimono, with blue pants and blue slippers. Her hair was short and black and there was a pokéball floating near her head. She seemed to be a Psychic Class Trainer. Garrick then deduced that she must be Lynette's ghost.

Lynette spoke. "Though we only had one Lunar Wing, it should have been enough to at least save Liliana, but... It turned out that Darkrai was brainwashing Liliana to think that Ray was saying that 'she did not need the Lunar Wing' and to 'stay with me'." Lynette said, in the same monotone voice as everyone else in the house. "Soon after she died, Ray and I found ourselves in an endless nightmare, never to wake up or learn why this all happened." She continued, before disappearing.

The pokéball then began to fall and lands button first on to the ground. As soon as it did, an ooze of dark energy came out of the ball, eventually forming into a dark, shadowy figure, before giving away to more details, revealing the figure to be none other than Darkrai himself. Alex found himself petrified in fear. Something about Darkrai just made him stuck in his place. He once faced the Bittercold, an Embodiment of Negative Emotions, with Ryouma, and he at first felt he frozen in fear, much like right now; as if Darkrai was somehow reminding him of the Bittercold.

Garrick and Dacre, however, stood bravely against the Darkrai, starring it down face to face, fearlessly. "Darkrai. Tell me, why did you do all this? Tobias, Liliana and now Boone and Lynette; why did you put them to sleep?!" He exclaimed.

Darkrai scoffed. "This family once invaded MY territory on a supposed fishing trip. Doing so is never forgiven. As such, I killed them as punishment, as well as to make sure it would NEVER happen again." Darkrai said.

[Music: Sinnoh Legendary Pokemon Battle from PKMNB2]

Hiroshi grunted. "I get wanting to protect your territory; every Pokémon has that instinct; even we as humans do; but you went so far just to punish the whole family?!... Fine. You leave me no choice. I was going to ask you to leave here peacefully, but something tells me you wouldn't listen. As such, justice must be dealt." Garrick said, pulling out a green pocket-watch, which had a colourful stone on the back.

Garrick turned to Dacre. "Ready, Dacre?" He asked. Dacre nodded. "Go beyond evolution; Mega Evolve!" He exclaimed, tossing the pocket-watch into the air and catching it, with Dacre mirroring his motions. Suddenly, Dacre was absorbed in a bright light, and became bigger, faster, and stronger too. He wasn't a regular Swampert anymore; he was a Mega Swampert.

Garrick put the pocket watch back into his pocket. "This is a technique we Hoennese borrowed from the kalosians many years ago; the accumulation of both bond and spirit: Mega Evolution!" Garrick explained.

Darkrai grunted. "Hmph. It shall make no difference. You will suffer just as they did, for entering my territory." Darkrai scoffed. Darkrai put his claws together hand summoned a dark purple ball of wind. He then holds his hands out, blasting Dacre with Ominous Wind. They struggled against it but stood resolutely.

Dacre grunted. "… Dacre, Hammer Arm!" Sogen directed. Nodding, Dacre got into position as one of Dacre's forearms glows white. He then slammed it onto the Darkrai. It was super effective, but not enough.

The Darkrai grunted, before charging toward Dacre at high speed, slashing him with a Quick Attack. Dacre countered this with another Hammer Arm, launching Darkrai back.

They only scoffed again, before using Double Team, surrounding Dacre and co. with many Darkrai copies. "You will die by my hands!" They said in unison.

Dacre looked between each of the copies. "Tch… which one do I go for, Garrick?!" Dacre flinched, as the copies began to charge more Ominous Wind.

Garrick surveyed the situation. "… Trust your instincts, Dacre! Go for broke!" Garrick replied.

Dacre closed his eyes and relied on his more primal senses. And sure enough, he sensed which one Darkrai was. He lunged at them, with a Hammer Arm right to the proverbial face, just as they were about to launch the Ominous Wind. It knocked Darkrai back into the wall, as the ominous wind balls faded, as did the copies.

"Ngh..." Darkrai grunted, getting up. "Hmph. Don't think you have won just yet, Garrick Hazel. We will meet again, that you can be sure of..." It threatened, disappearing in a thick, black cloud of smoke. "We will meet again, and you will dread the day we met forever."

[Music: Mission Clear! From PMD:GTI]

Alex was at a loss for words with what he had just witnessed. The so-called 'accumulation of bonds and spirit'... he had never heard or seen anything like it before in his life. "Th-That... was... AMAZING!" He managed to say. "H-How did you do that, Prof. Hazel? Tell me, tell me!" He jumped up and down excitedly.

Garrick chuckled at Alex's enthusiasm. "Calm down now, Alex. Don't get too excited now, it only lasts for one battle." Garrick explained as Dacre became absorbed in a bright light once more, turning back to a regular Swampert.

Garrick then took out his pocket-watch, turning it over to reveal the colourful stone with DNA strands within it. "The stone in my pocket-watch here is directly connected to Dacre's necklace through the 'bonds between us', so to speak. Sadly for you, I don't think you have a Pokémon on you that can mega evolve, nor do I have any other mega stones on me, besides one for my Absol."

Alex tilted his head and crossed his arms. "Wait, Absol? Is he the same as in the books too?" He asked.

Dacre chuckled and nodded. "That's the one."

Alex lit up and pumped his arms. "Awesome!" He exclaimed.

[Music: at the end of the road from PMD:GTI]

Suddenly, three ghosts appeared in front of Garrick and Alex. Not only was there Liliana and Lynette's ghost, but Ray's ghost was there too. Lynette spoke up. "Thank you for defeating Darkrai. We can finally rest." She Thanked. "Here, take this Rare Candy in return." She said, pulling out a small candy in a blue wrapper out of her pocket and putting it on the ground. As soon as it hit the ground, it became physical.

Boone stepped forward. "Take this too." Boone added, pulling out a Full Heal from his pocket and putting it by the Rare Candy. It also became physical when it touched the ground.

Liliana stepped up to Alex. "Your Emolga... he's asleep, right?" Liliana asked Alex, to which he slowly nodded. "Use our Lunar Wing. We don't need it, after all... It's under my bed. Here, let me move it." Liliana then closed her eyes and put her hand out towards the bed. As she moved her arm over, the bed began to move and float to the other side of the room, revealing the Lunar Wing below the bed. "To use it, simply lay on the sleeping Pokémon, and it should easily be absorbed into it." She explained.

Alex nodded. "A-Alright, let's give it a try." Alex said, sending out Emile. He then took the Lunar Wing from where the bed was and laid it on top of Emile. As soon as he did, the Lunar Wing disappeared into Emile, and he woke up.

Groggily, Emile got up. "Wha- What happened? ... Alex?" Emile said, getting up. "I had this crazy dark nightmare just now, everyone was dying and... Wait, where are we? ... Ghahh! A ghost! Three of them!" He jumped, getting behind Blaise.

Ryouma chuckled. "Hah! I knew he was afraid of ghosts!"

Boone smiled. "We can't thank you enough, trainers. We can finally rest in peace. We are forever in debt." Boone said, catching everyone's attention.

Garrick bowed. "The honour's all ours, Liseran family. May you rest well." Garrick replied.

Liliana walked back to stand beside Lynette and Boone. "Garrick... Alex... thank you... for everything." Liliana said as she and her parents disappeared. As soon as she did, the unnerving chill disappeared almost immediately afterwards as well.

* * *

[Location: outside of the Liseran House, Unova; June 25 2012AD; 2:32 pm]

[Music: Rescue Team Base From PMD:RTDX]

Garrick sighed. "Well. That was quite the adventure, now wasn't it Alex?" He asked.

Alex chuckled. "I'll say. I haven't had one like that for a while now!" Alex remarked.

Garrick stopped walking. "So Alex, where do you plan to go now?" Garrick asked, curiously.

Alex turned to face Garrick. "I'll probably... make my way to Opelucid City, through Reversal Mountain. That sounds good." Alex replied. "Well, I should get going. See ya."

Ryouma stopped in his tracks. "Wait a second. Dacre, Garrick, Absol..." He turns to face Dacre. "Come to think of it, aren't you... Dacre Beckett?" Ryouma asked, pointing at Dacre.

Dacre blinked before nodding. "Uhh, yeah? What about it? You heard of me before?" Dacre answered, tilting his head.

Ryouma nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of you! You're the co-leader of the Red Rescue Team, The Sentinels; the Lucario rank team of the Air Continent Rescue Team Conglomerate!" Ryouma excitedly exclaimed.

Dacre crossed his arms. "... Where ya from, kiddo? ... In the Sleeping World, I mean." Dacre asked, suddenly interested.

Ryouma put his claws on his hips. "Noe Town, on the Mist Continent!" Ryouma exclaimed. "Come to think of it, wasn't your partner rumoured to be a human named Garrick that 'had turned into a Pokémon'? Is Garrick here the same guy?"

That struck several chords with Dacre. "HOW IN THE NAME OF ARCEUS DID YOU HERE ABOUT US FROM OVER THERE, TWO CONTINENTS AWAY?!" Dacre yelled, surprised. "How did word of us get so far? Where else have it spread?"

Ryouma thought about that. "I'm only guessing, but I'd be surprised if word hadn't reached The Sand Continent by now." Ryouma supposed, making Dacre even happier.

Dacre looked up at the sky. "The Sand Continent... that's basically across the globe from the Air Continent… You know what this means, Garrick? We're famous WORLDWIDE TWICE! In this world AND my world!" Dacre exclaimed, starting to laugh. "Oh, today is a good day! Gha ha ha ha!"

Garrick smiled but it quickly fell away, before he crossed his arms. "Dacre, Shouldn't we be going?" Garrick reminded him. on the inside, of course, he was actually kind of giddy about all of this himself, despite not really knowing what he meant by 'continents'. It seemed to him that his childish side wasn't quite gone after all. "... You can explain the whole 'continent' thing to me later." He added.

Dacre turned to Garrick. "Huh? ... Oh, yeah. See ya later, kiddo." He nodded, as Dacre and Garrick began to walk away.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I should really get going now too." Alex said, starting to head towards the entrance of Reversal Mountain's cave, waving. "See ya around, Prof. Hazel!"

Garrick smiled. "See ya, Alex." Garrick waved back. It puzzled him to no end how much Alex and Ryouma really reminded him of himself and Dacre. Were they fated to meet, by the powers that be? Or was it a coincidence? He couldn't really tell. That puzzled him even more.

CH6 END


	7. Chapter 7: Unforgettable Memories

***one day later***

[Location: Route 12, Unova; June 26 2012AD; 9:05pm]

[Music: Pokemon Paradise 2 From PMD:GTI]

Alex, Ryouma and Emile were just sitting on the grass of Route 12, taking a break before heading to Opelucid. Alex spoke up. "Say, Emolga; Ryouma. Tell me something. When I in that golden ball, did you guys... forget me?" He hesitated to say the last part. It was hard for him to say, after the experience he had in the Pokémon world. "I know you guys said you wouldn't forget, but..."

Emile and Ryouma smiled. "Nope." They both replied in sync. "We didn't forget ya for a second. Defiantly took Hydreigon for a whirl." Emile continued.

Ryouma chuckled. "You should have seen his reaction after you left. He was so confused about how everyone just didn't forget." Ryouma added. "He always went on about it was 'breaking the laws of the universe', and how 'it shouldn't be possible'. Heck, I'm pretty sure he's still confused!"

Alex chuckled, looking into the sky. "Heh. Fair enough, I suppose... Honestly, though, I'm confused too; how DID you guys not forget me?" He asked, leaning back in.

Emile and Ryouma exchanged glances with each other for a second, before turning back to Alex. "We're not quite sure ourselves, honestly. Maybe it's because our bonds are just too strong?" Emile shrugged.

Ryouma thought about it. "Or maybe it's because Alex and I have changed the lives of so many Pokémon. Think about it. For every mission we did, be it a rescue mission or an item delivery or whatever, we changed at least someone's life in doing it. And then there's everyone in Paradise. We gave all of them a place to really call 'home'." Ryouma suggested. "We changed so many lives together. Perhaps your impact was just… too big to erase."

Alex nodded. "... Yeah, good point." Alex supposed. "I'm just... I'm glad you kept the promise."

Emile smirked. "Well, we told you we would!" Emile exclaimed.

Alex nodded, pulling out the frism. "I know, it's just... I didn't think it would actually happen." Alex replied. "I didn't really think you guys would be able to keep it, due to what Hydreigon said."

[Music: That is odd... from PMD:GTI]

Suddenly, a voice behind Alex began to interrupt. "Umm... excuse me, sir... I know it might sound weird, but you... kind of remind me of someone."

Alex then turned around to see a Dunsparce. "Oh! Hello!" Alex greeted, moving so that everyone could see the Dunsparce. At that moment, Alarm bells began to go off in Emolga's head. In the Sleeping World, he has a Dunsparce as a best friend. Could this be him?

He wanted to say something, but he decided to keep quiet, at least for the time being. Alex continued. "So, you say I remind you of someone? Could you please tell me who?" Alex asked.

The Dunsparce thought for a second before shaking its head. "… No, I can't think of their name... there's something about you that reminds me of someone, but I don't know who you're reminding me of, or what's reminding me of them. Sorry..." The Dunsparce replied, shyly.

Alex waved it off. "No, it's alright! ..." Alex sarcastically put his hand to his chin. "Hmm... Does the name... Alex Gates ring any bells?" Alex suggested.

The Dunsparce thought about that for a second. "Alex... Gates? ... Let me think here... Oh, that's it! That's who!" the Dunsparce exclaimed, jumping up and down. "That's who you remind me of! ... Wait, how did you know that it was him?" He asked.

Alex smirked. "I have my ways. Say, what's your name, little guy?" Alex asked.

The Dunsparce hesitated. "... It's… It's Darrell. Darrell Bentley." Darrell replied. "What… What's yours?"

Alex nodded. "My name? Why, it's Alex Gates! It seems you've heard me?" Alex answered.

[Music: our first meeting from PMD:GTI]

Darrell hopped backwards. "Wait... WHAT? You're Alex? I- I mean… I know he was actually a human but..." Darrell exclaimed.

Emile stepped up. "It's him alright, Dunsparce. I mean, look at this!" Emile noted, grabbing the frism from Alex's hands. "A Frism; straight from the Glacier Palace!"

Darrell opened his eyes, revealing big light blue eyes. "Then... You guys are... I can't believe it! How'd you get here, Ryouma and Emolga!?"

Alex chuckled. "Well, we were all already here." Alex answered. "The 'Sleeping world'; the world we first met each other in, is an alternate dimension that is deeply connected to this world; the human world. Every Pokémon there is also here, with a few exceptions; or so a good professor told me."

Darrell slowly nodded, closing his eyes. "O... OK then... I thought I was talking to Alex, not Hydreigon..." Darrell noted. Everyone laughed after that.

Ryouma walked up to Darrell. "You want to come with us, Dunsparce? We've been travelling around all of Unova, and we might even go even further than Unova!" Ryouma asked.

Darrell jumped up and down. "Are you kidding? Of course I do! If Emolga's going, I'm going!" Darrell replied.

Emile clapped. "Atta boy! Told you I'd make you brave one day!" Emile exclaimed, smirking.

Alex smirked. "Well then, it's settled." Alex said, pulling out an Ultra Ball. "Let's go, Dunsparce." Darrell then nodded, before being absorbed into the Ultra Ball. "We should keep going. You want to stay out, Emolga?" Alex asked, standing up and dusting himself off.

Emile shrugged, before jumping up to hover for a bit. "Doesn't really matter much to me. Do what you want with me."

Alex nodded. "Alright, Emolga; Return." Alex replied, pulling out Emile's pokéball. Once he pressed the button, it absorbed Emile in a red flash.

***10 minutes later***

[Location: Route 11, Unova; June 26, 2012AD; 9:35 am]

[Music: route 11 (summer) from Pokemon Black]

As Alex was heading towards Opelucid City, he was suddenly stopped by a feminine voice. "Stop, Trainer!" A Virizion jumped down from the Cliff. "The Winds of Change has predicted that great peril will come soon to Unova. As one of the Legendary Swords of Justice, it is my job to protect the environment, but we cannot do it alone; we need your help. I am Jade Lockwood, the Viridian Sword of Justice." She exclaimed.

Alex knew how this was going to go. "It's, Uhh... very good to meet you." Alex replied, "I'm Alex. Alex Gates."

The Virizion flinched. "... Alex?! That's you? I had heard from other Pokémon about a young trainer named Alex who could talk to Pokémon, I did not realize it was YOU." Virizion explained; her calm collective composure fading. "If you're Alex, then you must be Ryouma!" She exclaimed, turning to Ryouma.

Ryouma nodded. "Yep, it's me, alright!" Ryouma confirmed. "I've been travelling around Unova with Alex here for about two days now." Ryouma then began to notice something in the sky, above the southern edge of Opelucid. "Uhh, what's that?" He asked, pointing at it.

[Music: assault! Opelucid City from PKMNB2]

It was the Plasma Frigate, an airship belonging to Team Plasma, A rebellious organization that recently came back into action, after two years. Jade grunted. "Oh no... It seems we were too late." Jade commented. "Alex, Ryouma, get away from Opelucid; Now!" She ordered, running away from the entrance to Opelucid. Alex wanted to question why, but changed his mind and went with it anyways, with Ryouma following.

Cannon then came out of the Frigate's front, and shot a ball of ice at Opelucid City, exploding into a huge ice Crystal in the middle of Opelucid city. It then shot multiple more ice Crystals, freezing over Opelucid completely. Some of the shots did explode in the air, spreading some ice onto Route 11.

Alex grunted. "What the heck just happened?!" Alex exclaimed.

Jade looked forward resolutely, walking forward to meet with Alex. "The evil Team Plasma plans to freeze all of Unova, starting with Opelucid I'm guessing. This is why I needed your help, Alex. Help me save Unova from these Dastards, Alex!" Alex had heard a lot about Team Plasma in the last two years, be it through rumours or through the News.

Alex smirked. "Well, fact of the matter is, Virizion... I ain't got a choice. It's my home too, y'know! I can't allow that to happen any more than you can." Alex explained. "And besides, you're a friend. A friend in need is a friend indeed, am I right?"

Virizion chuckled, nodding at Alex. "Heh, you're exactly right, Alex. Let's go!" Virizion said, dashing into Opelucid.

Alex ran after her. "Wait for me, Virizion!" Alex called after her.

* * *

[Location: Opelucid City, Unova; June 26, 2012AD; 9:50 AM]

[Music: The frozen City from PKMNB2]

Opelucid City looked like a glacier. There were ice crystals everywhere, and the ground was almost completely covered in ice. It was also incredibly cold; though not in the same way The Strange House was. Alex gawked at the state Opelucid was in. It was almost like seeing the Glacier Palace for the first time, but with much less ice and snow, though back then he looked at it with excitement, but this... nothing but fear.

There were even people encased in the ice; trainers and pedestrians alike, completely frozen in the ice. It was horrific in a way. It only strengthened the idea in Alex's mind that Team Plasma was not to be taken lightly, and that they were a menace that should be taken down at all costs; no matter what.

A voice spoke out, bringing Alex back down to earth. "Oh hey! It's Alex!" it said. It was Rosa, in fact. Nate was there too, as was the Opelucid Gym Leader, Drayden Whitaker, who specializes in Dragon-type Pokémon. Alex and co. ran right over to them. Rosa crossed her arms. "What are you doing here? ... and what's with the Virizion?" She asked.

Jade answered for Alex. "I am Jade Lockwood. I requested Alex to help me save Unova from this freezing disaster here. I'm assuming you two were requested to help as well, by Cobalt?" Jade explained, referring to the Cobalion, Cobalt Steele.

Nate nodded. "Quite so, in fact." Nate replied. "And what about you Alex?"

Alex turned to face Nate. "Well, I just was on my way to Opelucid City when all of this suddenly happened." Alex answered. "I didn't even realize you guys were here. Did you guys beat Drayden?"

Drayden nodded. "Yes. They have. If you are here for my challenge, boy, you'll have to wait for the dust to settle here. I'm going to be busy with... other matters for the time being." Drayden butted in.

Suddenly, two people ran into Opelucid from Route 11: Cheren and Hilbert. Their faces were serious and determined. They lit up when they saw Alex and Co., running straight to them.

[Music: Cheren's Theme from pkmnb2]

Cheren spoke first. "Nate, Rosa, Drayden. I'm glad you're all safe." Cheren exclaimed, looking along the group.

Drayden sighed looking away. "If only I could say that about the civilians..." Drayden commented before looking back at Cheren and Hilbert. "It's good to see how you two have grown through since we last met; Cheren, Hilbert. I heard you had recently taken Lenora's place as Unova's Normal Type Gym Leader, Cheren. Nice job."

Cheren nodded. "We should save catching up for later, Drayden; we don't have much time for idle chit-chat, I'm afraid. We've got a good idea on where Team Plasma is hiding right now."

Hilbert jumped in. "Currently, The place in Unova with the lowest temperature, besides Opelucid right about now, is an area near Humilau City Right now, it's our best guess. Nate! Did you get your seventh gym badge?" Hilbert has sort of been Nate's role model recently, much like Garrick has been for Alex, and has met with him plenty times during Nate's journey.

Nate nodded. "...Yes. I got it right before team plasma struck; as did Rosa. Why?" Nate asked, slightly confused about why he was asking that so suddenly.

Hilbert nodded. "Good. Once you get the Gym badge in Humilau, I'll be giving you my Mewtwo. It helped me defeat Team Plasma two years ago, and it'll now help you defeat them here." Hilbert proposed. "Think of it like me passing the torch from me to you."

Cheren looked at Hilbert with surprise. "h- Hilbert! Are you sure about this? What's so special about him for you to give him that?" Cheren questioned him.

Hilbert turned to face Cheren. "I can sense great potential within him, far surpassing my own, or even N's." Hilbert explained. "My instinct tells me that giving Mewtwo to him will be the best idea, in this situation. Furthermore, he's gone toe-to-toe with Team Plasma plenty of times. Trust me on this one, Cheren. Anyways, Drayden: stay here and protect Opelucid City. Cheren, Hugh and I will go after Team Plasma. Rosa, Nate; you two can join us if you want, once you defeat Marlon." Hilbert detailed. "Hugh will be waiting outside of Humilau's Gym, with Mewtwo."

Cheren nodded. "Right! In any case, we'll be off!" Cheren exclaimed, leaving Opelucid, with Hilbert close behind.

[Music: the frozen city from PKMNB2]

Alex turned towards Hilbert and Cheren as they ran off. "... Where the heck does that leave me?" Alex wondered out loud.

Rosa stepped forward. "How about you come with us?" Rosa suggested. "We were already planning on getting the Humilau Gym badge, so that'll be our first priority, but once we do that, we'll go after Team Plasma! How's that?"

Alex nodded. "Sounds good to me, I suppose. What about you, Virizion?" Alex asked.

Jade thought about it. "...Alright. I'm ok with it, so long as we stop Team Plasma in the end." She replied. "We may be friends, but my Reputation for protecting Unova with Cobalt and Terra comes first, at least in this world."

Nate nodded, smirking. "I understand that, and we will." Nate noted. "Heck, we'll do more than stop them; we'll defeat them, once and for all!"

CH7 END


	8. Chapter 8: Familiar Faces

***one day later***

[Location: Humilau City Island Half, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 11:05 pm]

[Music: Humilau City from PKMNB2]

Humilau City was an interesting place, to be sure. (Though Nate and Rosa have been here plenty of times.) Half of Humilau was on an island, while the rest of it was on wooden platforms, standing over the ocean, with certain parts of the water being shallow enough to walk on. On the door of the Humilau Gym, there was a closed sign.

Alex crossed his arms. "Huh? Why is it closed?" Alex asked, confused.

[Music: Hugh's Theme from PKMNB2]

A voice spoke out. "According to the locals, He's swimming around in the ocean right now." it said, catching their attention. As it turned out, it was Hugh.

Alex smiled. "Hey, Hugh!" Alex exclaimed.

Hugh blinked, turning to face Alex. " ... Alex?" Hugh replied. "You're here too?"

Alex nodded "I ran into Rosa and Nate at Opelucid and decided to tag along with them again!" Alex explained.

Hugh crossed his arms. "Opelucid? Did you see it get frozen by Team plasma?"

Alex sighed. "Yeah, I did. I've never seen anything like that. Where were you during that?"

Hugh grunted. "I was fighting Marlon, the gym leader here. Once we stopped battling, he jumped into the sea."

Rosa chuckled. "I should have figured he'd be swimming. He loves doing that after all. You see pretty much everyone who lives here knows how to swim, and he's no different." Rosa explained. "'If you can't swim, you won't do well here.' that's an idea that Humilau practically lives on. The idea itself comes specifically from Pacificlog Town, of the Hoenn region."

Alex turned to face Rosa. "You sure seem to know a lot about this place." Alex commented. "So, we have to find him in the water?"

Nate nodded. "Yeah. He likes to be sneaky about it too, so this won't be easy." Nate replied. "Let's go. We should split up too; just to cover more area."

Alex smirked. "Alright, I can do that."

Rosa had an idea. "How's this: the one that finds him gets to fight him first!" Rosa suggested.

Nate nodded. "Alright, good idea." Nate agreed. "Let's begin! First one to spot him gets to fight him first!" Nate then ran into the Ocean Half, to get a head start.

Hugh smirked. "You two go ahead then, I'll chill here. I already beat him, after all." Hugh noted, leaning on the gym sign. "Although, once you guys beat him, I'll give Nate Hilbert's Mewtwo, and then we can get the DNA Splicers." Getting the DNA Splicers, which were held in Opelucid City was part of Team Plasma's ultimate plan of 'unlocking Kyurem's true potential', whatever that meant.

* * *

***10 minutes later***

[Location: Humilau City Ocean Half, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 11:15 pm]

[Music: We're back... and now... from PMD:GTI]

Ryouma looked over the ocean bends, walking with Alex. "You sure he'll just be swimming somewhere around here, Alex?" Ryouma asked. "All we've been finding is Pokémon!"

Alex looked around. "Well, according to Rosa and Hugh, he should be... Perhaps we're just being unlucky." He replied. "Let's just keep looking." He then noticed a ripple in the water. As soon as he went up to it though, a Basculin jumped up.

Ryouma sighed. "See? Just another Pokémon!" Ryouma exclaimed, annoyed.

Alex stopped walking. "Stop being so discouraged, Ryouma. It's not like you." Alex commented. "Is something wrong?"

Ryouma nodded. "Of course there's something wrong! There's this evil group of people trying to use a Kyurem to freeze the whole region!" Ryouma exclaimed. "I'm a Dragon-type! I'm weak to Ice types! I have a reason to worry!"

Alex stomped. "Hey, I'm worried too, ya Axe head! I just haven't paid much attention to it yet. Besides! We've defeated a Kyurem before, so who says we can't this time?!"

Ryouma crossed his arms. "This one will probably be stronger though; I mean, look at what it did to Opelucid!" Ryouma expressed. "What if we're just not strong enough-" Alex then suddenly cut him off.

"Stop right there; don't you DARE say that. It's negativity like that that created the Bittercold." Alex told him; acting the most serious he's been in a while. "Don't you dare think like that either, alright? We beat one before, so odds are we can beat it again. I don't want to hear any worries like that. I'm worried enough already." A thick silence filled the air between them. For moments, they just stared at each other in the eyes. Eventually, Ryouma broke away from the staring.

Ryouma looked down. "S... Sorry, Alex. You're right. You're exactly right." He apologized, tearing up a bit.

Alex went to hug him. "Listen here, Ryouma. If there's one thing I need you to do is to Trust in our bonds. We may be nothing much individually but together; united, by a single common goal; we're unstoppable. Never forget that; not for a single second." Alex assured him.

Alex broke off from the hug but stayed crouching, "It wasn't just me that defeated Kyurem; it was us. Who defeated the Bittercold? I did the final blow, yes, but before I could even stand a chance against it, I needed help from the hopes and dreams of everyone in Post Town; you included. All of our victories, from the minor to the major, it was because we were together; as a team. Trust in our bonds and believe, Ryouma. Believe that everything will be fine, and I'll make sure that happens, no matter what. That, you can count on." Alex concluded, ending his little speech.

Ryouma was speechless. "I... I... Thank you, Alex. I... Really needed that. Especially from you." Ryouma thanked, starting to cry. Mind you, they weren't tears of sadness; but Tears of Joy. "I guess... I haven't changed much at all."

But then a voice spoke. It was Emile's. "The heck do you mean by that?" Emile jumped in, escaping his Pokéball. "We've all changed a lot since we met Alex; and even since he left! We've gotten stronger; both in bonds and in strength. Though by the by, that was completely cheesy and both of you know it." Emile commented.

Alex blinked for a second before breaking away from the hug, to stand up. "The Final Frism was way worse than that, Emolga."

Emile chuckled. "Fair." he noted.

[Music: Humilau city from PKMNB2]

Suddenly, his X-Transceiver began to ring. When he opened the call, it was Nate and Rosa.

Nate smirked. "Guess who won the competition...?" Nate asked excitedly; as if he was hinting that he won.

Rosa sighed. "You did, didn't you?" Rosa replied. "Isn't this the 5th time in a row now?"

Nate chuckled. "Yup!" Nate nodded, triumphantly. "18 outta 25, baby!"

Rosa scoffed. "Ugh, don't tell me you went underwater to look for him, again... Meet you guys in front of the gym." Rosa sighed again, leaving the call. Nate ended it soon afterwards.

Emile raised his eyebrows. "I guess we go back to the gym now?" Emile suggested.

Alex shrugged. "I guess so. Let's go." Alex replied, heading back to the gym.

* * *

***Back at the gym***

[Location: Humilau City Island Half, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 11:35 am]

When Alex got back to the gym, he saw that not only was Rosa and Hugh there, but Hilbert was there too.

Alex waved. "Oh, hey Hilbert! Guess we got here before Nate did, huh?" Alex greeted.

Hilbert nodded. "I noticed. Where is Nate anyways?" Hilbert asked.

Rosa walked up behind me. "Well you see, we normally play this game of 'tracker' with dad whenever we visit him and he isn't in the gym. 90% of the time he's swimming too." Rosa explained. "So I suppose Nate is just taking a bit to get back to the gym."

Hilbert raised his eyebrows. "Wait... 'Dad'?" Hilbert asked, confused. Before he could get an answer though, Marlon showed up.

Marlon saluted. "Yo! There ya are, Rosa!" Marlon exclaimed, walking up to the group and kissing Rosa on the cheek. "Good to see you too, Hugh. And you are...?" He asked Alex.

Alex sighed. "Alex Gates, remember? One of Rosa and Nate's friends? Who moved away from Aspertia because of Team Plasma?" He reminded Marlon.

Marlon slowly nodded. "Oh yeah, you... ok then. I'm going to assume you're here for the gym battle too?" Marlon noted.

Alex nodded. "You bet I am!" Alex exclaimed. "I'm completely ready for you too!"

Marlon chuckled. "You've got spirit that's fo' sure kiddo. However, though, that'll have to wait for Nate to catch up with you guys. I need to get everything ready anyways. See ya." He told them, before unlocking the door and heading into the gym.

Soon afterwards, Nate came around the corner from the ocean half of Humilau. "Oh! Hey Hilbert! Guess you guys got here before me." He called to the group, running up to them.

Hilbert waved at Nate, "Hey Nate. I suspect you're ready for Marlon?" Hilbert greeted.

Nate smiled and nodded. "You bet! I've been waiting my whole life for this moment! I'm not going to lose!" He replied, excited.

Hilbert chuckled. "Well, with that spirit of yours, I'm sure you'll do fine!" Hilbert chuckled. "I'll be waiting out here, and I'll rooting for you; we all are."

Nate nodded. "Thanks, Hilbert! I'll need it." He replied. "I'm going to go inside. You two ready? Nate asked, turning to Alex and Rosa.

Alex and Rosa nodded. "You bet!" They said in sync.

Hilbert smiled and waved, before crossing his arms. "Good luck in there, Nate, Alex, Rosa!" Hilbert exclaimed as they went inside the gym. He sighed. "He's got energy that's for sure, not to mention plenty of optimism. But will it be enough to beat Team Plasma? A legendary Pokémon like Kyurem's no pushover that's for darn sure, and neither is Gethsis." He thought to himself. "Is it really a good idea to give him Mewtwo? ... Only time could tell, I suppose. I wouldn't expect the winds to be wrong."

* * *

[Location: Humilau City Gym, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 11:36 am]

[Music: Humilau city gym from PKMNB2]

There were plenty of wooden platforms standing over ocean water. There were plenty of large lilypads too, serving as transportation between the platforms. There were also 6 Ace Trainers; trainers that were best of the best as well, forming The Humilau Gym Core. The lights were off as Marlon probably wanted to do a fancy introduction, Nate guessed. And just like that, the lights went on.

Marlon struck a pose. "Nate Nathaniel Waters, Rosa Ambrose Waters, and Alexander Alva Gates. You three have come to challenge me, Marlon Allan Waters, the Gym Leader of Humilau City. I'll have you warned though. If ya aren't prepared, my Trainer Core and I will blow you out of the waters. As the eighth Gym in the league, we ain't no joke, so yo be prepared, fo' it'll only get harder when ya walk through Victory Road, Y'hear?" Marlon Detailed. "So, who's first to challenge me?

Nate exchanged looks with Rosa and Alex before walking forwards. He put his arms on his hips, triumphantly. "I am!" He yelled loudly, making sure everyone in the room could hear him.

Marlon smiled. "Perfect... With your 7 other gym badges, please proceed to your first opponent, Ace Trainer Conan Doyle!" Marlon exclaimed, waving his hand out.

Nate beat the Humilau Gym Core one by one, and with relative ease thanks to Xander, who was now a Serperior, eventually reaching Marlon himself.

Marlon pounded his fist. "So you finally caught up, Dude." Marlon chuckled. "You totally rocked it out there, man; I'm already proud enough about your skill as a trainer; you've got the trainer thing down to a T! Even obtaining seven badges over the course of a week is amazing enough! And now here we are; as trainers of almost equal strength, standing face to face. I'm kind of speechless at how much you've grown in such a small time, man. But enough talk. You're here to battle me and win my badge, and as the Humilau Gym Leader, I'll give you said battle. Don't even try to hold back!" Marlon finished his speech.

Nate smiled. "Trust me; I wouldn't dare hold back for a second!" Nate replied, his heart racing.

Nate swept through Marlon's whole Team using Xander's grass moves, one by one since water types were weak to Grass-type attacks, and Marlon was primarily a Water Type Gym Leader. From the beginning, Marlon never stood a chance. But he knew this was coming; he had seen Nate's battles against the Gym Core, which all went exactly like this one.

[Music: victory! Gym leader from Pokémon black]

Marlon chuckled. "Heh... To think I actually lost to you; my own son... you've grown more than I thought. Here, take your badge, man. You've more than earned it." Marlon congratulated, handing Nate the badge of Humilau City: The Wave badge. "Pretty sweet, right? Now that you've got all eight Badges, so you can be tight with any Pokémon! Oh yeah, got a TM for you, too! TM55: Scald!"

Marlon then handed Nate a blue disc. "It's a pretty simple move, y'see. Scald's a water type move that sometimes burns the target. Oh, and you can even use it when you're all frozen and chillin' and stuff! Hope you find it useful, kiddo. You can use that lilypad to get back to the entrance, by the by." Marlon pointed at the lily pad behind Nate.

Nate pumped his fist. "Ah, yes! Thank you!" Nate said, stepping on the lilypad, propelling it forward, to the front of the gym, where Alex and Rosa were.

Marlon clapped his hands. "Now then! Who's our next contestant?" Marlon exclaimed.

[Music: Humilau City gym from PKMNB2]

Alex and Rosa's battles with the trainer core and Marlon were pretty similar to Nate's, with Alex using Emile and Rosa using her Whimsicott, Scott Greene.

Marlon met the three of them near the entrance of the gym. "Well, the three of ya did perfect, I think!" Marlon exclaimed to the trio. Y'all had the spirit and potential to defeat my gym, alon' with all the other ones. Now go on, my dudes! I hear there's someone waitin' outside for ya. See ya!" He bid farewell before jumping back into the sea.

* * *

[Location: Humilau City Island Half, Unova; June 27, 2012 AD; 12:32 pm]

[Music: Humilau City from PKMNB2]

When they came outside, Hilbert and Hugh were talking to each other. Hilbert noticed them almost immediately and waved to them. "Ah! Nate! Rosa! Alex! I don't suppose you all have a Wave Badge now, do you?" Hilbert greeted.

Alex and co. nodded. "Yep!" They all said, showing him their individual badges. While Rosa and Nate both had 8 badges, Alex only had 5, due to the fact he started his journey in Nimbasa, compared to Nate and Rosa who started in Aspertia.

Hilbert sighed. "Well, I suppose it's about time I pass the torch." He reached into his bag and pulled a cherish ball out of it. "Here you go, Nate. Mewtwo, in all its glory. He helped me defeat team plasma last time, and now he'll help you do the same. Now, Shall we go to where Plasma Frigate is?"

Nate tilted his head. "You know where it is?" Nate asked.

Hilbert nodded. "Cheren told me earlier that he found it on Route 22. And as far as I know, they haven't noticed him yet. Let's go!"


	9. Chapter 9: Icy Sanctum

[Location: Route 21, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 1:00pm]

[Music: Cheren's theme from PKMNB2]

As Nate and co. walked out of the Seaside Cave, they saw Cheren, along with the Plasma Frigate, just as Hilbert said. Cheren was looking at the frigate rather puzzledly.

Cheren Turned around and waved and Alex and co. "Ah! Hilbert! Hugh! Everyone! I'm glad you're all here." Cheren exclaimed.

Hilbert smirked. "Now we just need Hilda and Bianca and then we'd really be set." Hilbert replied, with a hint of lament.

Hugh shook his head, facing the Frigate. "Let's focus on the task on hand. We got any way of getting on there?" Hugh said.

Cheren Turned back towards the Frigate too. "Not as far as I'm aware, without getting caught." Cheren replied, turning to the ship.

A voice suddenly came from the ship soon after. "That should do it!" A stairway descended from the ship, revealing Marlon, and giving Hilbert and co. a way to get on.

Nate and Rosa gasped. "Father!" Nate and Rosa exclaimed.

Hugh raised his eyebrows. "I thought you said you weren't going to fight Team Plasma." Hugh noted.

Marlon smirked. "An' I'm still not fightin' them." Marlon replied, walking down the stairs to face the group. "I'm just 'ere to help! Can't hog the spotlight from the Defenders of Unova, now can I?"

Hilbert tilted his head. "Defenders?" Hilbert asked, skeptical.

Marlon chuckled, brushing his thumb under his nose. "C'mon now, it was you, Hilda, Cheren n' Bianca that shut Team Plasma down two years ago, wasn't it?"

Cheren slowly nodded. "Mainly yes, but what does that have to do with-" Cheren began before getting interrupted by Marlon.

"Though Hilda an' Bianca're busy elsewhere; you've made up for their absence with Alex an' 'em." Marlon continued. "The Original defenders have split sure, but the leaders are still here in dis new group. You've done well hotshots. Keep it up." He then headed back toward the sea, and swam away.

Hugh shrugged. "… Well then." Hugh noted.

* * *

[Location: Team Plasma Frigate, Route 21, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 1:01pm]

[Music: Plasma Frigate deck from PKMNB2]

When they got on board though, 6 grunts piled out from the lower decks.

One of them scoffed. "You plan on getting any further, you gotta go through us!" a grunt said.

Hilbert smirked. "Well everyone, we'd best get ready then!" Hilbert exclaimed, grabbing a poke ball.

Everyone nodded. "Right!" everyone replied in sync, each grabbing a poke ball. Alex sent out Ryouma against a Seviper.

[Music: Team plasma battle from PKMNB2]

Alex brushed his thumb under his nose. "Alright Ryouma; Dragon Claw!" Alex ordered as Ryouma nodded. Ryouma's claws then glow light blue and he slashes the Seviper with one of them. The Seviper then retaliated by biting down on Ryouma's shoulder with glowing white teeth. Ryouma jumped back, getting off the Seviper, as they hissed.

Alex Stepped forward. "You ok, Ryouma?" Alex asked.

Ryouma shook his arm and scoffed. "Tch, yeah; I got this." Ryouma grunted. "Give me my next move."

Alex thought quickly. "Uhh… Dragon Claw." Alex replied. Ryouma nodded again and his claws glow light blue and he slashes the Seviper once again, fainting it.

The grunt then sent out a Drapion. Alex nodded. "Ok, Ryouma; retreat." He said.

Ryouma looked back at Alex confused. "Really? You sure?" Ryouma inquired.

Alex nodded. "I have an idea!" Alex replied, returning Ryouma to his pokéball, and grabbing another one. "Go; Blaise!" Alex then sent out Blaise.

The Drapion hissed. "Oh, this will be good…" The Drapion commented, honing its claws.

Blaise chuckled. "I think I get it!" Blaise exclaimed. "Let me guess; Hammer Arm?"

Alex blinked before thinking about it. "Oh! ... Uh, Sure!" Alex nodded. He was thinking of using fire, not fighting but it won't hurt to go with it, he thought. Blaise's Left-arm then glows white and he slams it onto the Drapion. The Drapion then retaliated by slashing Blaise with glowing red claws.

It then went to attack again, as Blaise jumped back, but it was fast enough to slash him again. "Blaise, use Flame Charge!" Alex ordered again, and Blaise nodded. The flames on Blaise's shoulders then began to surround his body and he charges at the Drapion, launching it back.

But the Drapion wasn't done yet, as the Drapion's claws on its hands glow purple and it goes to jab Blaise with it. But as it does, Blaise counters it with another Hammer Arm, striking it downwards. "No." He retaliated, as the Drapion bounces off the ground, fainted.

The Grunt scoffed, returning the Drapion and ran off with the other grunts. Alex also let Ryouma out of his Pokéball, after returning Blaise.

[Music: Plasma Frigate Deck from PKMNB2]

Hilbert clapped his hands. "Alright gang; we need to split up!" Hilbert announced. "Alex, Rosa, you go to the south entrance. Nate, Hugh, go to the north entrance. Cheren and I will go down the stairs."

They all nodded. "Right!" each of them went their own ways. Alex, found himself confronted by a green glowing circle on the ground.

Alex raised his eyebrows. "What's this?" Alex asks out loud.

Ryouma shrugged. "Looks like a Magnagate."

Then a voice spoke behind Alex. "I think it's a Teleporter." Rosa said, coming in behind him.

Alex turned to Rosa. "How do you know for sure?" He continued to ask.

Rosa nodded. "I've heard of this sort of thing before; you step in it, and it takes you to somewhere else! Let's try it." Rosa replied, before stepping on it and being teleported away.

Ryouma nodded. "Yup, just like a Magnagate." He noted, stepping on it. Alex sweated a bit before trying it himself, being teleported inside the stern. There, they were confronted by another surprise. Alex gasped. "It's… it's a Kyurem!" He exclaimed.

* * *

[Location: Team Plasma Frigate Stern, Route 21, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 1:02pm]

[Music: Icy Sanctum (arrangement 2) from PMD:GTI]

The Kyurem breathed heavily. "Hhh… Boy… Aren't you the one who defeated the Bittercold…?" The Kyurem struggled to say.

Alex stepped back. "Bittercold!? How do you-?" Alex replied, keeping quiet. Rosa looked at Alex with a confused sense of skepticism but decided not to say anything.

The Kyurem closed its eyes. "Hhh… So you are… Alex Gates; the Renouncer of Fate, and his partner, Ryouma Kiba." The Kyurem grunted. "To think… I'd see you… again…" Alex and Ryouma then realized the Kyurem here, is the same Kyurem they met in the sleeping world; the Protector of the Glacier Palace.

Finally, Rosa decided to say something. "Alex, what… is he talking about?" Rosa asked, but it fell on deaf ears.

Alex and Ryouma stared at Kyurem, no longer afraid of Kyurem's cold demeanour. Ryouma spoke up. "What are you doing here, Kyurem?"

The Kyurem grunted. "Team Plasma is… using me… for their gain. You must… Defeat them. Fate demands it." Kyurem went on.

Alex's eyes went wide. "Fate?" Alex questioned.

Kyurem shakily nodded. "You defied it once before, and now, you need to do it again." Kyurem explained. "I… misunderstood that fate is not always what it seems. It can be… changed. You much change it once more, to preserve the continent; no… the world. I need you to turn off these lasers. One of the grunts holds a key card. Get it from them and find the password."

Alex tilted his head. "A Password? What's the password?" Alex asked.

Kyurem grunted. "The name of a Pokémon… who spoke of naught but truth. The rest… is up to you." Kyurem replied. "I can't say more, else they might notice."

Alex hesitated. "… Alright." Alex nodded, somewhat understanding. Alex; with the help of Rosa; fought through the grunts, obtaining the key card and the password; Reshiram.

[Music: Zinzolin's theme from PKMNB2]

As soon as Alex put in the password, they heard a voice from above him. "You are some Impressive trainers to have made it this far." They looked and saw above him not only a purple cloaked figure but also Nate.

Rosa grunted. "Zinzolin… Quick; we need to hide!" Alex and Rosa then hid, to make sure they couldn't see them.

Zinzolin scoffed. "Since you went to such the trouble to come here, I'll show you something. This is…" Zinzolin then stepped aside to show Nate… "The legendary Pokémon of ice; its name, is Kyurem!" He announced.

Kyurem looked forward, while still being aware that Alex and Rosa were still there. "Is he… a friend?" Kyurem asked Alex and Rosa. To keep quiet, they simply nodded.

Zinzolin pounded his fist. "The Ice missiles we fired into Opelucid City were created using Kyurem's power and Team Plasma's technology!" Zinzolin continued.

Nate raised his eyebrows. "What now then? What's your plan?" Nate snapped back.

Zinzolin thought about that before facing Nate and Hugh Head on. "Well… You could become a threat to Team Plasma, so we will eliminate you here!" Zinzolin exclaimed. But then, another voice spoke.

"Not with me around, you won't!" It was Hugh, stepping into view. "Nice one, removing the barrier, Nate. That was a big help." Nate simply nodded, smiling.

Zinzolin simply scoffed. "Hmph! We'll simply remove you both! Logan, to my side." The grunt at the side of the room above stepped beside Zinzolin and a double battle began between Nate, Hugh, Zinzolin and the grunt.

Rosa grunted. "We can't just stay down here!" Rosa said. "We need to go; come on Alex!" Rosa ran back to the teleporter, with Alex not too far behind, but something noticed them from the shadows…

They ran from the back of the ship to the front-most entrance, but inside they found three men dressed in black who looked like ninjas. Rosa grunted. "Get out of the way, Shadow Triad." She told them.

They said nothing though. Instead, they rushed at Alex and Rosa and knocked them out. "You get out of ours." One replied before Alex and Rosa blacked out.

"What do we do with them?" one asked.

"We could take them to Boss." Another replied.

"Or we can leave them to the shore." Another said.

"The shore will do. Leave them there and we should deal with the other intruders."

"Very well." One said, picking up Rosa, as another one picked up Alex.

* * *

[Silent]

"Alex! Alex! Come on, Wake up!"

Alex groggily woke up. "Ugh… what is it, Ryouma? Did something happen in Post Town?" Alex groaned in response.

[Location: Route 21, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 1:35pm]

[Music: Route 22 (summer) from PKMNB2]

Ryouma looked around slowly. "Uhh, for once? No." He replied as Alex sat up. When he looked around, he saw Rosa, Nate, Cheren and Hilbert on the ground with him, with the plasma Frigate gone. Rosa was only just getting up.

Alex stood up quickly. "Wait; Team Plasma!? Where did they go?" Alex asked.

Ryouma sighed. "I don't really know. I think we should wait for the rest to wake up." He replied.

Once everyone got up, Cheren had figured out where Team Plasma had gone. "It's possible they went to the Giant Chasm, as that's Kyurem's natural environment." He deduced.

Hugh tried to remember where that was. "The Giant Chasm, huh? Isn't that right off of Route 22?" Hugh asked.

Cheren nodded. "Indeed. I suspect you'll be going?" Cheren asked.

Nate stepped forward. "We all are, Mr. Easton." Nate nodded. "Team Plasma needs to be dealt with, just as they were 2 years ago."

Hugh smirked. "Got that right." Hugh commented. "Though, that Pokémon… Kyurem, wasn't it? Its cry seemed… lonely."

Rosa nodded. "Team Plasma is using this Kyurem for their gain; and not by its choice either. When Alex and I came across its containment cell, it told us team Plasma needs to be defeated." Rosa explained.

Alex jumped in. "Fate demands it, or so it put it." Alex added.

Hugh raised his eyebrows. "Wait, so you can talk to Pokémon too, Alex?" Hugh asked, to which Alex nodded.

Alex smirked. "I've been able to the last couple of days." He replied.

Hugh's shoulders slumped down. "Really man; why is it that I'm the only one who can't?!" Hugh exclaimed.

Cheren chuckled. "Welcome to my world, Kid." He noted. "What did it mean by 'Fate' though?"

Alex shook his head. "It's… complicated, and isn't much time to explain it; not right now anyways." Alex pointed out.

Nate nodded. "That's right; Zinzolin did say Kyurem should be fully healed by now. We need to hurry." Nate commented.

Hilbert turned to Nate. "That Kyurem will be a real problem though." Hilbert noted. "We don't have anything that'll really come close to standing up to it."

Cheren nodded. "Such a legendary Pokémon can't be mirrored by many besides other legendaries like Reshiram and Zekrom."

Hilbert snapped his fingers towards Cheren. "Both of which, are out of region at the moment." Hilbert added, striking a nerve with Cheren, as he looked to the horizon.

Alex surveyed the resulting awkwardness before patting Ryouma. "Well… we've got Ryouma here!" Alex jumped in, breaking the silence.

Nate nodded. "Mewtwo too!" Nate added, bringing out its pokéball.

Hilbert shook his head. "First off, Alex, your Pokémon is still a Fraxure. Secondly, Gethsis' Pokémon are no joke either; his Hydreigon especially comes to mind." Hilbert explained. "Besides, I haven't truly been battling too much with Mewtwo anymore."

Alex and Ryouma gasped though, as Hilbert had him at... "Hydreigon!?" Alex and Ryouma exclaimed. They both knew how strong one can be, as they have worked with one before, back in the sleeping world.

Cheren nodded. "Hmm; In any case though, we can't stay idle here." Cheren pointed out. "We need to get the Chasm, stat."

Hilbert clapped his hands. "You're right. Let's get moving, everyone!" Hilbert nodded, leaving the area, with Cheren and Hugh close behind.

Rosa turned back towards Alex. "Well, Alex, see you there." Rosa said, leaving into the cave, with Nate behind her.

Alex slowly nodded. "Er… Right." Kyurem's words echoed in his head. 'Renouncer of Fate…' 'You must… defeat them… fate demands it.' "I know it can be changed, but what if Fate remains?" Alex thought to himself.

Ryouma stomped. "Alex! Come on! You heard Hilbert. We can't stand around!" Ryouma pointed out, bringing Alex back to reality.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go." Alex brought out Ryouma's pokéball "Ryouma, Return." He returned Ryouma to it in a flash of red.

CH9 END


	10. Chapter 10: Bitter Cold Rematch

[Location: Giant Chasm, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 1:35pm]

[Music: Dragonspiral Tower from Pokemon Black]

Alex and Ryouma made their way through Route 22 and to the Giant Chasm's cave system and inside, he was met with Nate and the others.

Nate noticed Alex immediately. "Alex! You made it!" Nate greeted.

Cheren nodded. "Just in time too; Rood just went outside to talk to his old allies." Cheren added.

Hilbert grunted. "He might need back-up though, in case they won't listen." Hilbert noted.

Cheren smirked. "True, let's head outside." Cheren agreed, as they all went outside to the Giant Chasm itself.

[Music: Infiltrate the Plasma Frigate from PKMNB2]

There Rood stood, with one old team plasma grunt on either side of him. In front of him, were seven Neo team Plasma Grunts.

Rood grunted. "Argh! I will say it as many times as it takes until you understand!" Rood exclaimed. "Gethsis's real plan was to take over Unova! Liberating Pokémon was nothing more than an excuse! If anything, it would have made Pokémon suffer!"

One of the neo plasma grunts scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, yeah. That's a pretty speech, Gramps!" one Neo Plasma Grunt commented. "You fool! We're not going to listen to what a traitor has to say!"

Hugh only scoffed. "Well, that didn't work…" he then stepped up to Rood and the Neo plasma grunts. "Hey! Let me through!" he exclaimed, catching everyone's attention.

A neo plasma grunts raised their eyebrows. "What are you saying? Looking to get hurt?" another Neo Plasma grunt commented.

Rosa stepped forward. "Hugh! What are you doing?!" Rosa questioned, but it fell on deaf ears.

Hugh growled. "I'm here to get a stolen Pokémon back!" Hugh replied. "I'm not gonna listen to villains like you! Rood! Ex-Team Plasma! Why do you have Pokémon by your sides? To protect what's important to you, right? Even if your Pokémon get hurt; even if your ideals are damaged: the time to fight is NOW!"

The neo plasma grunts scoffed back. "You're just a kid! Quit trying to act so cool!" a Neo Plasma grunt exclaimed. "Whatever! Nobody's getting close to the frigate! Wipe them all out!" Two grunts stepped out of the crowd to face Alex and Co.

Hilbert turned to Alex and Co. "Hugh, Rosa, Nate, Alex! Cheren and I will take care of them. Make a run to the frigate!" Hilbert exclaimed, stepping out of the group with Cheren to face the grunts. And as the battles began to wage, the four began to run, with Ryouma, returned to his pokéball.

Rood spoke out. "Wait a moment!" Rood exclaimed, stopping the group in their tracks. "Hugh, was it? About the Pokémon you're looking for. In all likelihood, it is in the possession of the Shadow Triad, The warriors who make up Gethsis's bodyguards."

Hugh nodded. "Got it! If I rescue it, that helps you guys absolve your guilt, doesn't it? Guess I'll help you out too!" Hugh went ahead of the group, into the frigate.

Rood turned back to his opponents. "At that time, I believed I was on the side of good. That by serving my king, N, I was going to make a world without war. But I was conceited, and I couldn't see the unhappiness we were causing. That's why I can't let it happen again!" he exclaimed.

As the battles raged on, Nate, Alex and Rosa made their way on to the Frigate. As soon as they entered the south room though, they were ambushed by two grunts; one male, one female.

The male one grunted. "Knaves! I do ambush thee!" one said.

The female smirked. "Oh-ho-ho! You've been ambushed!" laughed the female grunt.

Nate stomped. "Alex, go on ahead! We'll take care of these two." Nate exclaimed as everyone sent out their Pokémon.

Alex nodded "Alright!" He ran past the grunts, to the teleporter. Once through, he was on the bottom floor, face to face with Kyurem. He let Ryouma out and walked up to Kyurem.

* * *

[Location: Team Plasma Frigate Stern, Route 21, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 1:02pm]

[Music: Icy Sanctum (arrangement 2) from PMD:GTI]

Kyurem gasped, mist coming from his mouth. "Ah- Alex. Do you… still have the Key card?" Kyurem asked.

Alex nodded. "Yeah! It's… Uhh…" Alex looked through his bag, expecting to find it, but he did not. "Darn! Those ninjas must have taken it!"

Kyurem sighed. "The key card remains… on this floor. Someone… must have it. Find it; the password… is the name of a legendary Pokémon… who spoke naught but ideals."

Alex nodded. "Right!" He then went to look for the key card. And sure enough one of the grunts had it. Using it and the password; Zekrom, he was able to undo the barriers.

Kyurem bereaved heavily. "The teleporter... on the right leads to the controls for the cannon… Stop… Colress from using me for another… attack." Kyurem explained with a strained breath.

Alex nodded. "Ok!" Alex replied, heading in the teleporter to the right.

* * *

[Location: Team Plasma Frigate Helm, Giant Chasm, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 1:40 pm]

[Music: Colress's theme from PKMNB2]

At the front of the Helm was Colress himself, standing at the controls. "I do believe we have not met yet, Alex Gates." He confronted. "My name is Colress Reardon. Think of me as the brains of Team Plasma. I was asked by an acquaintance to help with his research. What I desire is to bring out the entirety in Pokémon potential!"

Colress began to pace. "If I can accomplish that, I don't care what it takes! If it means the strength must be brought out by the interactions between Pokémon and Trainers, then so be it! If it means you have to use a merciless approach, like Team Plasma's, and force out all of the Pokémon's power, then so be it; And yes, if the entire world is destroyed as a result, then so be it..."

Colress clapped his hands and stopped pacing. "That aside! The reason I have been travelling all over Unova and battling many Pokémon Trainers is because I was testing the viability of this approach to bringing out the full strength of Pokémon. In that respect, you've done an amazing job, as have your friends."

A voice spoke out. "Can it, Colress!" as it turned out, it was Rosa, appearing through the teleporter.

Colress looked at Rosa. "Ah, you... It has been a while, Rosa Waters. Well now! Tell me if you have the answer I desire or not! If you think you are ready, then come at me!" Colress replied.

Rosa put her hand out. "Alex, stand back. This is my fight." Rosa glanced, grabbing a pokéball. Alex quickly nodded and stood back. "This has gone on long enough, Colress. You won't use Kyurem anymore than you have! Come on out, Brenton!" She tossed her pokéball, sending out her Arcanine, Brenton Summers. "Let's pummel him."

Brenton nodded. "Yeah!" Brenton barked.

[Music: Colress battle from PKMNB2]

Colress scoffed. "Hmph. Come, Magneton." He noted, bringing out his Pokémon. "This will be interesting."

Colress chuckled. "Come on! More! Bring out your Pokémon's power!" Colress exclaimed. "Magneton, use Flash Cannon." A white orb of energy with light blue energy forms in front of Magneton's body, and it fires a white beam of energy with light blue energy from it at Brenton. It wasn't much effective, as Brenton shook it off and dashed out of the way.

Rosa pumped her fist. "Fire Fang to finish it off!" Rosa exclaimed. Brenton's mouth became surrounded in red-orange flames and it bit down on the Magneton, tossing it away like a toy. It hit the wall and slid down, clearly fainted.

Colress shook his head. "… No matter. Go, Beheeyem." Colress scoffed, returning magneton to its poke ball, before sending out another Pokémon.

Rosa thought for a second, "Hmm… Use Crunch!" Rosa exclaimed. Brenton's teeth began to glow white as he ran at the Beheeyem and bit it, tossing it away like a toy. It persisted, this time.

Colress grunted "Use Psychic." He said. The lights on Beheeyem began to glow. Then, Brenton became outlined in light blue and Beheeyem lifted him off the ground using ESP and tossed him at the wall, just as he did.

Brenton grunted. "…Touché." Brenton growled, getting up.

Rosa put her hand out. "Crunch again!" Rosa exclaimed. Brenton's teeth began to glow white as he ran at the Beheeyem and bit it once more, before tossing it at the wall. This did it in though, and it slid to the ground.

Colress nodded. "Go, Metang." Colress exclaimed, returning his Beheeyem and sending out his Metang.

Rosa smirked, knowing exactly how to deal with this. "Flamethrower!" Brenton then released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth again, at the Metang. It defeated the Metang easily, and it fell to the ground.

Colress ordered his Pokémon with a sort of robotic authority. "Now, Magnezone. Go." Colress said, returning his Metang and sending out his Magnezone.

Rosa chuckled. "Flamethrower again!" Brenton then released a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth again, at the Magnezone. Much like the magneton from earlier though, it persisted.

Colress smirked. "Flash Cannon." A white orb of energy with light blue energy forms in front of Magneton's body, and it fires a white beam of energy with light blue energy from it at Brenton. Unlike last time though, it did defeat Brenton.

Rosa ran over to a growling Brenton. "You did good, boy. Return." Rosa patted Brenton, returning him to his pokéball.

A voice spoke out, however. "May I help?" Cobalt asked, coming out of its Ultra Ball.

Rosa thought for a second before shrugging. "Uh… Sure." Rosa nodded, caught off guard. "I won't stop you."

Colress smiled. "Ah, yes; the legendary Pokémon Cobalion; The Steel Sword of Justice." Colress noted. "Interesting indeed..."

Cobalt scoffed. "Hmph: you know of my prowess, yet still persist? You are either a fool or a bold trainer." Cobalt exclaimed. "It matters not; for my blade shall pierce even the strongest of steel types." Cobalt's body began to glow blue; then, a long, curved horn glowing with a white aura forms from Cobalt's forehead. "Sacred Sword!" Cobalt then dashed at the Magnezone, cutting it. It promptly fell to the ground.

Colress chuckled. "Heh. Y'know, I'm more psyched than I've ever been! I can still go on! Come, Klinglang!" Colress exclaimed, tossing out his Klinglang.

Cobalt stomped its hoof. "Is this all? Sacred Sword." Cobalt then dashed at the Klinglang, cutting it. It remained floating, but the balloon that was attached to its spinning steel circle by a string was cut and it flew up to the ceiling. The face on the small gear seemed to start crying and its body sparks with electricity before releases a powerful bolt of yellow lightning from its body at Cobalt.

Cobalt took the shot well enough but it did affect it a little. "Tch…" Cobalt grunted, stepping back. Cobalt's body then began to glow blue again; then, a long, curved horn glowing with a white aura forms from Cobalt's forehead. "… No matter. "Sacred Sword!" Cobalt then dashed at the Klinglang again, cutting it. It promptly fell to the ground.

[Music: Colress' theme from PKMNB2]

Colress smirked. "Hmm. So this is what it means to draw forth the power hidden in your Pokémon!" Colress exclaimed. "How strong. You're a very strong trainer indeed, Rosa Waters. You too, Alex Gates; I can tell. Let me ask you two this! Are you thinking of reaching even higher heights by understanding each other as Pokémon and trainer?" he asked them.

Rosa and Alex both glanced at each other before nodding. "Yes." They say in unison.

Colress chuckled. "I see… to me, that is an ideal answer. And to think! That's what you actually believe! You bring out the power of your Pokémon with only respect and love!" Colress acknowledged. "Excuse me for repeating myself, but if it will make Pokémon stronger, I don't care what it takes. If interacting with Pokémon can increase their power only to a certain point, then their full strength must be brought out using a more scientific approach; even one without a conscience."

Alex grunted. "But there's more to a Pokémon than power! They have a mind like ours!" Alex noted. "It's not just about winning; it's about having fun with your Pokémon too!"

Colress nodded. "Indeed. And you two; no, you three, if I may include Nate Waters, have shown me the potential of your approach time and time again. To me, whether Team Plasma wins or whether you win will decide how the relationship between people and Pokémon should be!" Colress nodded. "So where will this be settled? Step on the warp panel on the other side of the room where Kyurem is being held. Good luck in your next battle, Rosa Waters and Alex Gates!" Colress bowed.

Rosa wanted to question such a farewell, but shook her head and nodded. Rosa and Alex went into the teleporter and headed to the one on the other side of Kyurem.

* * *

[Location: Team Plasma Frigate Captain's Room, Giant Chasm, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 2:00 pm]

[Infiltrate the plasma frigate from PKMNB2]

Hugh sighed, as he crouched down to the Liepard beside him and Nate stood at the other end of the room. "… Hey… Nate…" Hugh said, after a bout of silence while staring at the Liepard. "If we let Team Plasma do whatever they want… There'll be more sad Pokémon like Suki and Kyurem…" Hugh noted, speaking of the Liepard in front of him, which he knew as a Purloin by the name of Suki.

Nate nodded. "I know that, Hugh. And we will stop them; trust me on that." Nate reassured. Then, Alex and Rosa stepped out of the teleporter.

Rosa smiled. "Nate! Hugh! There you are!" Rosa exclaimed, before seeing the Liepard. "… Did we miss something?"

Nate shook his head. "Oh you know, Gethsis ran outside, Hugh got his Purrloin back… that's about it." Nate summarized.

Alex stepped forward. "Where did he run to?" Alex asked.

Nate shrugged. "Probably the cave on the other side of the Giant Chasm. That should be where those stairs lead us." Nate pointed to the stairs to the right of him.

Rosa nodded. "Then let's go! Rosa exclaimed, running down the stairs.

"Right!" Alex nodded, running after her.

Nate was about to run after her, but Hugh stopped him, putting his hand on his shoulder. Nate looked back at Hugh, noticing Hugh was almost... crying? A rare sight, to be sure. Nate wasn't sure if he had seen Hugh cry since they took his Team Plasma's Assault on Aspertia. Hugh spoke earnestly. "Nate. Go ahead without me. I got what I came for."

Nate nodded, smiling. "Right. Thank you, Hugh. For helping Rosa and I fight Plasma as much as you did."

Hugh smiled, removing his hand and putting his hands into his pockets. "Don't mention it. Besides, we both had our scores to settle with them, huh? Go settle yours."

Nate smiled, and Hugh and Nate fist-bumped. Nate then ran after Rosa and Alex to find Gethsis.

CH7 END


	11. Chapter 11: Everlasting Hope

[Location: Giant Chasm Northern Cave, Unova; June 27 2012AD; 2:01 pm]

[Music: team plasma sortie from PKMNB2]

Alex and co. Ran into the main part of the cave to find Gethsis. Gethsis put his hands out, ready for a speech. "The Giant Chasm!" Gethsis announced. "This is the spot where Kyurem's power resonates. Here, Kyurem can use the full extent of its power and easily cover all of Unova in ice!" Gethsis walks to the right before stopping and slamming down his cane. "Kyurem, Come!" In a gust of snow and hail, Kyurem appeared, letting out a guttural scream. "I have a memory that continues to haunt me. Just one. That unpleasant look in your eyes reminds me of it. That aside, however, this is my gift to you to show my respect for making it this far. I'll freeze you solid here so that you can watch my glorious ascent!" Gethsis slammed his cane down again. "Kyurem! Glaciate!" he ordered.

Kyurem's voice shook immensely, unable to resist Gethsis's mind control. "Alex… I'm… Sorry…" Kyurem grunted as snow and hail blew around the room, solidifying into many long icy spikes that spun around Kyurem. Spinning faster, they started to surround Alex and co. they then stopped and Alex closed his eyes, scared for his life. Ryouma however, squared up to try to resist it. He bared his teeth and his claws began to glow.

"Zekrom! Fusion Bolt!"

"Dragon Claw!"

[Music: N's theme from Pokémon Black]

Alex opened his eyes to see thunder crackle across the room, destroying the crystals as Ryouma destroyed the ones that the thunder didn't hit. Gethsis scoffed, realizing who just appeared on the scene. "Hmph. So you came." Gethsis noted as a green-haired man flew in on a colossal black dragon. "The freak without a human heart; N."

Alex and co. gasped. "N?!" Alex and co. exclaimed, surprised. N was, of course, the King of Team Plasma, before Hilbert and Hilda stopped them two years ago. It was rumoured he had flown away from Unova on Zekrom, with Hilda going after him with Reshiram.

N grunted. "Hmph. Zekrom told me Kyurem was suffering. I can't let selfish humans like you make Pokémon suffer!" N exclaimed, making Gethsis chuckle. "And I like Unova. It's the place that taught me how to live as a human. It's the place that taught me the harmony between Pokémon and humans living together."

Zekrom nodded. "Natural is right, Gethsis! Stop this tyranny!" Zekrom roared, but that fell on deaf ears. (Mainly due to Gethsis not being able to talk to Pokémon like everyone else in the room.)

[Music: team plasma sortie from PKMNB2]

Gethsis smirked. "Excellent. That was a moving expression of your determination. So the education I gave you to make you king wasn't a waste after all!" Gethsis exclaimed. "However all of that aside, I still haven't forgotten that you disrupted my plans." Gethsis noted, pulling out a gold crystalline object. "You need to be taught a lesson, with these DNA splicers." The object hovered into the air, turning into the DNA splicers Nate and Rosa had seen in Opelucid. It then exploded into many blue helix circles and floated over to Kyurem before becoming larger and being absorbed into Kyurem. The blue energy pulsated through Kyurem as it began to scream. "It's time, Kyurem, go!" The ice on Kyurem's wings broke apart, Kyurem still screaming.

N gasped. "Zekrom!" N exclaimed. Zekrom then flew around the room, as Kyurem shot purple balls of energy at Zekrom. Zekrom was able to destroy some of the balls with lightning and dodge others, but the eventually caught up to Zekrom, covering it and encasing it in a purple ball.

Zekrom tried to get out of the purple ball. "…NNaturaalll!" Zekrom roared, before collapsing to its dark stone form, leaving N speechless and mortified. Kyurem then zapped the stone with electricity and absorbed its power; and in an explosion of electricity, Kyurem had changed. It was darker and had parts resembling Zekrom. Kyurem closed its eyes before opening them again. Wires from its wings began to connect to Kyurem's Zekrom tail and it let out another scream, with both Zekrom's and Kyurem's voices being heard in unison.

Everyone flinched at this. N spoke up. "I would have never believed there was a way for Pokémon to fuse; that there was a formula like this!" N exclaimed.

Alex and Ryouma stared at the new Kyurem in both awe and Dread. Kyurem was already powerful enough on its own; they both knew that firsthand. So to see this… it struck them to his core.

Gethsis laughed maniacally. "Now listen N." Gethsis exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "If you had simply become king, Unova would have remained beautiful! But now, it will freeze at my hands. Kyurem! Freeze all of them solid!" Kyurem roared and a blue ball of lightning and ice began to form in front of Kyurem, and Alex and co. braced themselves for impact. But N, stood unflinchingly.

[Music: Unwavering emotions from Pokemon black]

N closed his eyes. "… I can hear you, Zekrom..." N noted. "Your voice… You can still be separated. There's… still time…"

N's words struck a chord with Kyurem. "NA...NATURAL… ALEX… I'M… SORRY!" Kyurem roared the ball fading.

Gethsis slammed his Cane down. "Ugh! You're nothing more than a tool! Both you and Pokémon are nothing but tools to realize my dream for domination!" Gethsis yelled.

N opened his eyes and looked straight at Gethsis. "… It's hard to call you this, but…" N noted. "Father." this immediately made Gethsis flinch. "Pokémon and human beings take each other to greater heights. They're our partners."

Rosa stepped forward. "Yeah! They are more than just tools, Gethsis!" Rosa exclaimed. "They are our friends!"

Alex jumped in. "They let us see who we really are, and help us learn our place in the world, no matter how small it is!" Alex added.

Gethsis growled and slammed his cane. "Shut your mouths… shut up! Don't talk to me like people, you freaks! No real person should talk to Pokémon!" Gethsis exclaimed. The ball of ice and lightning appeared in front of Kyurem, becoming bigger this time. The ball then exploded into a beam of lightning that flew at Alex and co. but it was met with a beam of fire, which blocked and cancelled it out.

Everyone turned around to see what had caused the beam, and flying in was none other than Hilda Blackburn, with the Pokémon Reshiram. Hilda smirked. "Found you, N." Hilda exclaimed.

N smiled and turned to Gethsis defiantly. Reshiram roared. "It's over now, Gethsis!"

[Music: Pokemon friends from PMD:GTI]

Hilda patted Reshiram. "Say, tell me Reshi: what's up with Kyurem?" Hilda asked.

Reshiram looked back at Hilda. "He has merged with Zekrom thanks to the DNA Splicers." Reshiram answered.

Hilda slowly nodded. "Right… Well Gethsis, listen up, you bitch." Hilda exclaimed, jumping off of Reshiram and crossed her arms, walking forward to stand with N. "Reshiram told me Zekrom was suffering in Unova and now I see why; you played Frankenstein with it! And here I was enjoying some sun in Alola; only to have to put up to your shit again! I also heard your whole speech on my way in and I got to say; you haven't changed a second. So, I doubt I need to repeat what they said, but I'll put my own spin on it. I'm done with your whole world domination shtick, Gethsis. I've heard it so many times to the point of cliché. Pokémon are more than tools, Gethsis. They make us who we are. Pokémon and people… They're one in the same!"

Alex nodded. "She's right." He noted. "They're more than just our partners. They are our equals. They are as smart as us and as strong as us; and most cases, even stronger and smarter than us! They are no more of tools to us as we are to them!"

Hilda snapped her fingers. "Damn straight!" Hilda agreed. "Also what's your name, kid? I like the way you think."

Alex smirked, turning to Hilda. "Alex Gates. Heard of me?" He replied.

Hilda put her finger on her lips. "… Actually, I think Hilbert told me about you before pretty briefly." She noted.

Gethsis grunted. "…Tch, no matter. Even your Reshiram won't be able to stand up to Kyurem's power. Kyurem! Destroy Reshiram! I'll deal with the freaks myself." Gethsis noted, grabbing a pokéball.

Hilda stepped forward. "Nate, Rosa; battle Gethsis in your own Pokémon battle. N; just sit tight and look pretty as always for a second." Hilda ordered, winking at N for a split second. "As for you, Alex… Help me fight Kyurem, alright?"

Alex and Ryouma flinched. "Wha? But Ryouma's still a Fraxure!" Alex pointed out. Even if they took Kyurem fine in the sleeping World, they didn't fight him when fused with a Zekrom, nor did they know how strong Kyurem really was in this world.

Hilda looked at Ryouma and shrugged. "It'll do." Hilda noted, before turning back to Gethsis. "Look Gethsis; if you think just that will stop us, you have another thing coming. You may have Franken-Kyurem's pocket monster on a leash, sure, but we have something way stronger and admitably way cheesier: The Bonds between us; that we have strengthened over time!"

Alex nodded. "Our Pokémon don't just fight for us because they have to; they fight for us because they want to!" Alex added. "Ready, Ryouma? This will be our toughest fight yet."

Ryouma chuckled. "Y'know what? If we got through the Bittercold, I think I'll manage." Ryouma replied, sharpening his claws. "Let's do this!"

Nate stepped forward grabbing a pokéball. "Your thinking is wrong, Gethsis! And we're going to prove it, one way or another!" Nate exclaimed.

[Silent]

"Together!" Alex and co. said in unison.

Ryouma put his claws up. "Together!" Ryouma added as he started to glow. "What the?!" suddenly Alex and Ryouma heard a distant voice; one that was quite familiar to them.

"Alex, Ryouma. Let your bonds flourish into Everlasting Hope.

That will be what will lead you to success!"

In a white light, Ryouma changed from a Fraxure to a Haxorus; his final form.

Alex chuckled. "Hydreigon…" Alex and Ryouma whispered to themselves.

Hilda nodded. "There ya go, a Haxorus. Now let's do this!" Hilda exclaimed as Reshiram roared.

[Music: guardian of fate from PMD:GTI]

Kyurem grunted. "ALEX… RESHIRAM… DEFY… FATE! …" Kyurem roared, charging up Fusion Bolt and launching a beam of thunder at Reshiram, as Gethsis sent out his Pokémon against Nate and Rosa's own Pokémon.

Alex put his hand out. "Ryouma! Use Dragon Claw!" Alex exclaimed.

Hilda patted Reshiram. "Fusion Flare!" Hilda added.

Ryouma and Reshiram nodded. "Right!" Ryouma and Reshiram said in unison. The claws on both of Ryouma's hands glow light blue, as Reshiram charged up its own ball of fire. Ryouma then dashed at Kyurem slashing it with one of his claws, before jumping away as Reshiram fired a beam of fire at Kyurem.

Kyurem lowered its head and purple energy begins to form in front of its forehead. The purple energy then grew larger and formed into a ball of shining light blue energy in front of Kyurem's head, before flying headfirst into Ryouma. Ryouma, however, caught Kyurem's head with both claws, but Kyurem did push him back several feet.

Still holding Kyurem's head with one paw, Ryouma's other paw began to glow light blue again. Ryouma grunted, putting his other claw up. "I'm sorry to do this Kyurem… Dragon Claw!" Ryouma slashed Kyurem right in the eye using his claws. Kyurem stepped back, screaming. Suddenly, in a bright light, Zekrom and Kyurem separated, and Zekrom flew back to N, with Kyurem disappearing off into the depths of the cave.

[Music: team plasma's sortie from PKNB2]

Gethsis gasped. "I can't believe it! The black Kyurem I went to all the trouble of preparing!" Gethsis roared, before shaking his head. "But it doesn't matter! I will still defeat all of you! Go, Hydreigon!" He exclaimed, sending out his Hydreigon.

Mewtwo, whom Nate had brought out scoffed. "Hmph. I remember this one." Mewtwo noted. It then put out its fingers as a blue ball of aura formed in front of him. "Aura Sphere." The ball then shot at Hydreigon, defeating it instantly. All of Gethsis's Pokémon had been defeated.

Gethsis grunted. "My plans for complete and total world domination… foiled yet again!?" Gethsis muttered. "It mustn't be! I couldn't have been defeated by some random trainers from who knows where!"

Nate raised his eyebrows. "Aspertia City." Nate commented, but it fell on deaf ears.

Gethsis began to break down, laughing maniacally. "I'm the creator of Team plasma! I'm perfect!" Gethsis went on, as Hilda began to walk up to him. "I'm the absolute ruler who will change the world! And now I've lost to some unknown trainers not once, but TWICE!? I can't accept this! This isn't possible! I-" But Gethsis was cut off as Hilda slapped him, knocking him out.

[Silent]

N gasped. "Hilda!" He exclaimed.

Hilda scoffed. "Shut up." Suddenly, there was a voice from the shadows.

"That was a bold move, Hilda Blackburn; though I guess that is expected from you." the voice said.

Hilda smirked. "I was wondering if you were going to show up if I did that, Shadow Triad." Hilda replied, unflinchingly, as a member of the shadow triad appeared beside her.

The shadow triad member chuckled. "I'm sure it is that clear to everyone that lord Gethsis has lost control. However, I will thank you for… restraining him. We will take it from here." The shadow triad member explained.

Hilda nodded. "Sure." Hilda replied. "Go right ahead; better you than me."

N crossed his arms. "So, without Father… Team Plasma is…" N trailed off.

The shadow triad picked up Gethsis. "Farewell, Hilda Blackburn; King N." The member noted, before disappearing with Gethsis, leaving only his cane.

[Music: N's Theme from PKMNB2]

N chuckled, turning to face everyone else. "On the behalf of everyone… Thanks to all of you, Kyurem is fine. It has lost a lot of its power, sure, but it will come here again."

Zekrom stepped forward. "I would like to thank you all as well." Zekrom added. "I'm sure you all can talk to Pokémon too?"

Alex and co. nodded. "Yeah." Everyone said.

Hilda raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah, I think Hilbert said something about that." Hilda noted.

Reshiram chuckled. "It's an odd coincidence, isn't it?" Reshiram noted.

N turned to face Hilda. "Oh, and Hilda; on that day, two years ago… you, Hilbert, and Alder taught me something. By accepting different ideas, this world creates a chemical reaction… So I went and met with many different Pokémon and people and heard so much. And that's how my world quietly became bigger." N explained. "By being with Pokémon, humans can continue toward new horizons. And by being with humans, Pokémon can exhibit their true power. That's what Zekrom taught me: the ideal for Pokémon and me."

Hilda nodded, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg. "So that's why you left… I went after you, searching for the truth of why you left, but you know… I kinda came to that conclusion too. You see, Reshi taught me the truth about our relationship with Pokémon when I was in Kalos. They need us as much as we need them. Every Pokémon, no matter how removed from the world they are, they still want contact and unity with us; and they still respect us in even the smallest of parts. That is the truth Reshi showed me and it held up everywhere I went.

N chuckled. "Heh… perhaps both ideals and truth will come together one day… then Pokémon and humans will be free from the oppression of pokéballs. Tell me! Alex, Nate, Rosa; what are you and your Pokémon striving for? You should head to the Pokémon League and put your ideals to the test!" N exclaimed.

Alex looked around awkwardly. "But… I only have 4 badges." Alex noted.

Hilda gave Alex a confused look. "How do you only have 4 badges and yet you have a Haxorus!?" Hilda questioned.

Ryouma and Alex exchanged looks. "Uhh… The power of bonds?" Ryouma suggested, shrugging.

Hilda crossed her arms. "Tauros-shit." Hilda scoffed. "Fraxure isn't one those Pokémon that can evolve by friendship, y'know." Ryouma only shrugged again.

N then got on Zekrom's back. "Hilda, I'm afraid I must be off. Don't worry though, Hilda, I won't be too far this time." N and Zekrom then blasted their way out of the cave.

Hilda gasped, running after him. "Hey! Get back hereee!" Hilda yelled. "Damn it, he got away…"

Reshiram sighed. "Best not to worry about it, Hilda…" Reshiram reassured. "He's telling the truth, and I'm sure he's here for good too."

Suddenly footsteps were coming from the inside of the cave and two voices.

"Rosa!"

"Nate!"

[Music: Hugh's theme from Pokémon black 2]

Turns out, it was Hugh and Hilbert.

Hugh spoke up first, holding a Luxury ball. "Team plasma's Ship flew away! Is it over now?" Hugh asked.

Alex smirked and nodded. "… You could say that." Alex answered.

Hilda turned immediately. "Hilbert!" Hilda exclaimed, running at him.

Hilbert gasped. "Hilda!" Hilbert ran up to Hilda and hugged her. "Where were you? Why are you here?"

Hilda held up two fingers. "1, I was in Alola. Beautiful place. 2, Reshi told me Zekrom was suffering in Unova. Turned out Gethsis merged it with Kyurem." Hilda explained.

Hilbert raised his eyebrows. "Zekrom?! N was here?" Hilbert replied.

Hilda smirked. "He just left, but yeah." Hilda commented pointing behind herself. "Though, according to Reshi and N himself, he won't be going too far. I should be good to stay now."

Hilbert smiled. "Oh, good! I have so much to show you! Unova has changed so much in just 2 years!" Hilbert exclaimed, beaming to see his sister again. "Everyone! As you probably know, this is Hilda, my sister. Hilda, this is Alex Gates, Nate Waters, his sister Rosa Waters, and Hugh Eklund!" Hilbert explained, pointing everyone out.

Hilda chuckled and waved. "Well, hi! Hilbert's told me about all of you, in some measure. Glad to have a moment to actually meet you all." Hilda introduced.

Hugh spoke up. "More importantly, you did rescue Kyurem from Team plasma, right?" Hugh asked.

Hilda nodded. "Serious one, aren't you? Yeah, it's safe. Alex and I fought it with Reshi and his Haxorus, while Rosa and Nate took care of Gethsis. I even gave Gethsis a huge slap across the face." Hilda bragged.

Hilbert gasped. "Really?" Hilbert replied, surprised.

Hilda chuckled. "Oh yeah! You should have seen N's face. Pure shock! Hilarious." Hilda chuckled.

Hugh shrugged. "Well, that's good… I'm going to make sure Suki gets to sis! Though, I still can't get it out of the pokéball… what about you though?" Hugh asked. "What are you guys going to do?"

Nate pumped his fist. "We'll be going to go to the league!" Nate exclaimed, with Rosa nodding.

Alex turned to face Hugh. "… I'm going to challenge the Castelia gym." Alex added.

Hilda crossed her arms. "I think I'll stay in Unova for a bit." Hilda added.

Hilbert crossed his arms. "A bit? What do you mean 'a bit'?" Hilbert asked.

Hilda chuckled. "Look man, Alola was more fun than I expected. Maybe we'll have to go sometime, what do you think?" Hilda asked.

Nate smiled. "I'd be down with it!" Nate commented.

Hilda shook her head. "In your dreams, kiddo. Pay for your own trip; Reshiram Airlines only has seats for the Blackburns." Hilda replied. Everyone got a chuckle out of that.

CH11 END


	12. Chapter 12:Farewells and Greetings

Sure enough, everyone went on to do their own thing. Rosa and Nate went to the Pokémon league, Hilda and Hilbert roamed around Unova, Hugh went back to Aspertia for a bit, and Alex went to Castelia to fight Burgh. He passed through it with flying colours thanks to Blaise. Once he got back to the main dock street though, he caught sight of a certain green-coated man standing in front of a ship with an old. Professor Hazel. "Prof. Hazel!" Alex cried out, running after him.

[Location: Castelia, Unova; June 28 2012AD; 12:01pm]

[Music: file menu from PMD:RTDX]

Garrick looked up. "Oh, Alex! I was hoping to run into you." Garrick greeted, turning. "I'm afraid that I have to leave to go back to Hoenn."

Alex gasped. "You do?" Alex asked, to which he nodded.

Garrick's smile had a hint of melancholy. "Indeed; Captain Stern is here right now, and I can't leave him waiting; I don't know when he'd be able to come back to Unova after all." Garrick explained, turning around. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." He stepped on to the ship.

Alex looked down before looking back at Garrick. "...But professor!" Alex exclaimed, catching his attention.

Garrick sighed and turned around. "Got one last thing to say?" Garrick asked.

Alex hesitated for a second. "I... I want to be your apprentice!" Alex blurted out, surprising Garrick.

He flinched and raised his eyebrows. "What?" Garrick asked.

Alex looked down, as Garrick walked up to him. "... I've always admired you; from the moment read that book. You've taught me so many things through your papers, and through talking to you. You showed me how to see my friends again; you showed me the true power of our bonds with Pokémon. You gave me hope. You've taught me so many things and I..." Alex explained, before looking back up. "I want to learn more from you! So please... can I be your apprentice."

Garrick put his hand to his chin and thought for a second. He had never taken an assistant before. He was an assistant to Professor Birch for a while before becoming a Pokémon Prof. in his own measure, but that's about it. "Hm... Alex, Wait for a second." He offered, after a while.

Alex tilted his head. "Huh?" Alex asked.

Garrick got on the boat and went inside the director's room, where Stern was sitting at the controls, with a Wailord mug full of coffee and a couple of papers strewn across the panels. "Hey, Captain Stern! When would you be back in Unova?" Garrick asked.

Stern raised his eyebrows. "What? Do you not want to go back yet?"

Garrick shook his head. "No, not yet. It would seem I've got a new apprentice I need to tend to first."

Stern sighed. "Alright, give me a second..." Stern flips through a couple of different papers before finding the one he needs. "...One week! I'll be back in a week. You'll be leaving with me then, boy or no boy. I can't guarantee you'll get back to Hoenn otherwise. Got it?" He noted.

Garrick nodded. "Yes, got it. Thank you, Director Stern." He bowed before getting back to the door.

Stern grunted as he opened it. "You better make it worthwhile, Hazel!" He noted.

Garrick smiled and looked back. "How about this, I'll get us all Castellacones."

Stern smirked. "Deal." He noted.

Garrick got off the boat and on to the docks, as the boat began to leave Castelia. "Well Alex, I'm here for another week. How many badges do you have?" Garrick asked.

Alex brought out his badge case. "Five!" Alex answered. In order, he had Elesa's, Clay's, Skyla's, Marlon's, and Burgh's.

Garrick nodded. "Well as we've talked before, to go from Youngster to a Professor's Aide, you need first beat the Pokémon league to register yourself as a worthy trainer." Garrick explained. "You think you can do it in a week?"

Alex nodded. "Challenge accepted!" He exclaimed, beaming.

Garrick smiled. "Good! Where to next then, Alex?" Garrick asked. "Lead the way."

With Garrick in tow, Alex blazed through the last few gyms. He beat Drayden with Ryouma, Roxie with Azure who by then was an Azumarill, and Cheren with Blaise. Finally, he got through the Pokémon league, using his Pokémon and the bonds he had strengthened with them, in both this world and the other.

* * *

[Location: Pokémon League, Unova; July 1st 2012AD; 3:01 pm]

[Music: we're back... and now... from PMD:GTI]

Alex sighed. "Well, Prof. Hazel... I did it."

Garrick nodded. "Indeed; and with a couple of days to spare." Garrick noted. "Well, Alex Gates, I'm glad to say you are now officially my Aide from here on."

Alex bowed. "I am honoured to be your Aide, Professor Hazel." He noted. "I do have a question though. Won't I need to learn Hoennese?"

Garrick shook his head. "I have Psychic Pokémon at my lab that will be able to teach you." Garrick answered. "More importantly, don't you want to say your goodbyes to your family and friends here? It's hard to know for sure when we may be back in Unova."

Alex nodded. "Uh, yeah! Let's go do that!"

Going around Unova some more, Alex and Garrick met with Nate and Rosa, along with Hugh and of course Alex's parents to say goodbye, as well as saying goodbye to Jade. Unova needed their virizion to stay in Unova, after all. When he was at Nimbasa, Alex even said goodbye to Ranger Lois Appleby. Everyone was sad to see him go, but they all wished him well. On the last day though, they went to the Giant Chasm to meet with one last person.

Alex turned from the entrance to the Giant chasm's main cave to face Garrick. "Could you wait out here, Garrick?" Alex asked. "I need to meet with him alone."

Garrick raised his eyebrows before shrugging."... Okay, if I must." Garrick nodded. Alex then went inside the cave to meet with none other than Kyurem.

* * *

[Location: Giant Chasm Northern Cave, Unova; July 5th 2012AD; 12:31 pm]

[Music: at the end of the cave from PMD:GTI]

Kyurem stepped forward from the depths of the cave, with the same cold aura he always had. "Hmph... to think you'd come." Kyurem thought out loud. "Alex Gates."

Alex waved. "Kyurem!" Alex exclaimed. "Thought I'd come to see you." Ryouma then came out of his pokéball, as did Emile and Darrel.

Ryouma gasped, seeing Kyurem again. "Oh! Sorry, for slashing you in the eye, Kyurem." Ryouma apologized. Sure enough, even though Ryouma had slashed Kyurem in the eye when it was merged with Zekrom, the scar remained.

Kyurem shook his head. "Hmph, pay it no mind. It matters not." Kyurem chuckled. "You all beat Team Plasma and defied Fate once more. That is what matters. You have all proven yourselves to me once again and I hold naught but respect."

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from above. Or at least, it sounded like it did. "Well well, the gang's all here!" Out of nowhere, a Hydreigon appeared. Of course, it wasn't just any Hydreigon. "I'm glad we're finally able to meet again, Alex. It's been a while!"

Alex and co. smiled. Alex spoke up. "Hydreigon! It really has been a while, huh!" He replied, beaming. It was the Hydreigon Alex had met in the Pokémon world; although, he was more like the voice of all life, taking the form as a Hydreigon.

Kyurem chuckled, looking towards Hydreigon. "You're still assuming that form, huh, Anima?" He noted.

Hydreigon nodded. "I've taken to it better than you think, Kyurem. Anyways, Alex, It's great that you have become Garrick's Aide. As I'm sure you're aware, he saved the world himself many years ago, so seeing you two working together really fits." Hydreigon chuckled. "I... still don't understand how you managed to not be forgotten by everyone in the Sleeping world, but you did, and I gotta hand it to you; you really left a mark on the world."

Kyurem nodded. "Indeed. The ripples of you defeating the Bittercold and changing fate have reverberated in all the right ways to let you be remembered by all. I suppose this is, perhaps, a good thing."

Hydreigon looked to Kyurem. "Maybe it's what your precious 'fate' had in mind this whole time!" Hydreigon noted. Even Kyurem got a laugh out of that.

Kyurem sighed. "Perhaps so. Now then, Alex; the time has come for you to leave. The ship will soon be in docks." I would suggest you get there with haste." Kyurem notified.

Alex smiled. "Ah, thank you." Alex nodded. "Well Kyurem, Hydreigon... See ya."

Kyurem nodded. "Until Fate brings us together again."

Hydreigon chuckled. "What he said." Hydreigon added. "Oh, also! I was what evolved Ryouma early. I had to pull some strings with the God of Life, but I did it to make sure you would win that battle. Anyways, see you."

Alex smiled. "Ah, I had a feeling that was you." Alex replied. "I'd recognize that voice anywhere. See ya!" Alex then ran back to Garrick, as Hydreigon disappeared in a light mist.

Kyurem chuckled, looking upwards. "Hmph… toying with Xearneas… thou art a mischievous one, o voice of life…"

* * *

[Location: Prof. Hazel's Lab, Oldale Town, Hoenn; July 5th 2012AD; 7:01 pm]

[Music: Rescue Team Base From PMD:RTDX]

After getting to Hoenn, they made their way to Oldale Town, where Garrick had his lab. It was quite open concept, in a way. The inside part of the lab had two desks in it as well as many opening ways; ranging from sliding windows to smaller doors, that could only be accessed by Pokémon.

Up the stairs were the living commons, where there was a kitchen, as well as rooms for both Alex and Garrick. As Garrick had told Alex, Alex had noticed how much quieter Hoenn was compared to the Unova he was used to. When they got there, Garrick took off his coat and hung it up. "Dacre, mind telling everyone we've got a new guest?" He asked, letting Dacre out of his pokéball.

Dacre nodded. "Sure." Dacre went off to the lab's backyard, which was open to the forest nearby.

Garrick turned to Alex. "You can let your Pokémon out here too. I'm sure they would love to make some new friends here." Garrick noted.

Alex nodded. "Oh, ok. Come on out guys!" Alex exclaimed, letting out Ryouma, Emile, Dunsparce and Blaise.

They all proceeded to the Backyard of the lab, which was full of berry crops before leading to the forest paths. They saw Dacre walking out of the forest, followed by many different kinds of Pokémon. Some were from Kanto, plenty from Hoenn, and some from Sinnoh. "Alright, everyone! As some of you may have heard, we have a new guest here! He's here to stay too. This is Alex Gates; my new apprentice."

Discussion waged between the Pokémon.

"Apprentice? You take those?"

"Is he nice?"

"Does he talk to Pokémon, professor?"

Alex awkwardly nodded. "Uhh yes, actually." Alex replied.

"Really?"

"Another human who can talk to us?"

"What are the odds of that!?"

A chuckle came out from the group. "You'd be surprised." an Espeon exclaimed, stepping out from the crowd, as the crowd began to quiet down.

An Umbreon ran after the Espeon. "Tanya? What are you doing?" The Umbreon asked.

Tanya walked right up to Alex. "It's good to see you here, Alex Gates. Same with you, Ryouma." She greeted.

Alex's eyes went wide, realizing who he was talking to. "Espeon?!" He exclaimed. "You're here?!"

The Umbreon flinched. "T-Tanya, is it really them?" He asked, shocked.

Tanya chuckled. "Of course, Shadow. Look at this!" Tanya's eyes glowed yellow as she used her psychic powers to pull Alex's Frism out of his bag. "See? A Frism, right from the Glacier Palace!"

Shadow gasped. "It is you! Alex!" He exclaimed, brushing up to Alex.

Dacre looked awkwardly at Alex, Tanya, Shadow and Ryouma. He crossed his arms."... Am I missing something here?" Dacre asked.

Tanya turned to Dacre. "Shadow and I had met Alex and them in the Sleeping World." She explained. "You could say we were an integral part of the Pokémon Paradise project."

Garrick nodded. "Ah, ok." Garrick replied. "Alex told me about meeting an Espeon and an Umbreon in the sleeping world. I was wondering if it was you two or not. Now, Tanya: Could you teach Alex how to speak Hoennese using your ESP?"

Tanya nodded. "Ah, yes." Espeon nodded. "Sit Down Alex, so that I can reach you." She patted the ground in front of her.

Alex raised his eyebrows. "Uh... ok." Alex sat on the ground and Tanya put her paw on his forehead.

Tanya closed her eyes. "This might hurt." She noted, opening her eyes, as her eyes began to glow. Suddenly, a rush of knowledge flowed through Alex's head. In that one instance, he has full knowledge of the language. He could likely speak it quite fluently now.

Alex flinched. "Wh- whoa!" Alex exclaimed, jumping back.

Tanya put her paw down and chuckled. "Didn't hurt too much, did it?" She asked, licking her forearm.

Alex shook his head. "... No, not really."

Tanya nodded. "Good." She replied, stretching. "Welcome to Hoenn, Alex Gates. You still have much to learn."

THE END


End file.
